In The Mirror
by vicky271
Summary: Chelsea wasn't always charismatic, she was once a person who over-reacted too much and let others trample her. Read her story. Love. Adventure. Mystery. What more could you ask for? Chelsea x Vaughn. *Currently thinking of rewriting (will still post post chapters) story*
1. Prologue Washing Up

_Washed Up_

I had always had a passion for farming. At least, that's what mom had always told me. She always commented on my passion for animals. You see, I spent all my time in the barn as a kid, growing up on a farm; you should always take advantage of it. I would always be grooming the horses, or milking the cows or just talking to them. I enjoyed it in there, but mom said that she noticed that the animals always enjoyed being with me as well, so it made it easier for her to take of the farm when Dad died. I guess that's why when I decided to pick up and move out of mineral town to Sunshine Islands, she wasn't very happy.

"I need your help here" She would always say "Do you really have to go?" She would whine. But my response was always "Mom, I'm a big girl. It's time for this big girl to hit the big world"

It was hard for her, I know. But Grandma and Grandpa were going to move in with her. They were also living on a farm at the time, and they loved my moms company. So the day before I left, they came for a visit. They told me that they were proud of me for taking this big step, and offered to get me a starting animal. I refused, I wasn't much of someone to accept charity. "I'm not even going straight to Sunshine Islands" I said "I'm going to the city first. I need to get a job so I can save up for the farm"

When I left, and got on the boat. There were many tears, from my family, my best friend Elli. She was a nurse; and had settled down quiet a few years ago with Dr. Trent. They were also expecting, and I had been very happy for them. But, sometimes when I was in my room thinking about Elli, I would get jealous. It hadn't taken her long to get married and settle down. In fact, it hadn't taken anyone in my town long to settle down. Not Poprui. Not Anne. Not Karen. Not Mary. Yup, everyone in town was married, everyone except me…I often felt lonely for this very reason, and I wondered if there was anyone out there for me.

Elli and Dr. Trent stood by the rails with my family. Grandpa. Grandma. Mom. All of them. There were tears of sadness. Tears of joy. Tears of almost everything. I mean, it was going to be awhile before I saw anyone form Mineral Town again. The boat began to pull away as I waved one last good-bye to the most important people of my life. Then, the dock vanished, and I was my way to the city. I took one more look at mineral town. At the place I had once known as a childhood dream. The place I grew up in. But now I was off to bigger and better things.

The first mate of the ships name was Brock. He had been a close friend of my dads before he died. Of course, Brock was devastated when he had died, but he had a way of continuing with his life, and as far as I knew he had never mourned over anyone. "Finally going out on your miss?"

I turned around to see Brock leaning against the side of the wall. His brown hair with a hint of grey, easily gave away his age. Brock was beginning to get wrinkles and big ones If I might add. They only ran on his forehead and chin, but anyone could tell he was old.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that" I looked back over the horizon, and became mesmerized by the sudden change of scenery. The waves crashing over the side of the boat. The sea air blowing against my face. The fish dancing under the water. Yup, it was the most perfect day ever.

I sighed. "Are days always like this out here"

Brock came over towards me and shook his head. "No. Storms always pop up. You can never tell when they'll come"

When Brock said "storms always pop up". He was right a hundred percent. A couple hours later, I could feel the sudden crashing of the waves which were by now much fiercer. The wind howled to the dark night, and the boat began to rock back and forth and back and forth. I heard a sudden knock at my door, and suddenly Brock burst into my room. "Miss, you got to get in a life boat! If this boat goes down, we'll get sucked down along with it"

I cocked my head "What? I thought…"

"Ever heard of the titanic?" He began to pull me off the bed "If you don't want to die, then we have to get you into a lifeboat!"

I was about to say that I would die in the storm, with the waves crashing over me but he didn't give me a chance to speak as he pushed me out the door. "I'm sure you know how to use a life boat miss." Brock held tight on to my arm, and the pressure made my arm feel like jelly. He forced me to keep up, and my legs were beginning to feel light fro running so fast.

It seemed to take ages before we reached the life boats, but we eventually got there. The storm hadn't let up at all; in fact I could have sworn it got worse. Brock pushed me into a lifeboat and began giving me instructions…at least, I think he was giving me instructions. I couldn't hear him over the howling wind and lightning. The next thing I knew, the boat was in the water and I was on my way to who knows where.

As I continued farther and farther away from the boat, I noticed the waves as they began to climb higher and higher. It scared me half to death! Wouldn't you be scared if you were in a little fishing boat in the middle of ocean?

A big white flash caught my attention as I noticed the boat I had just escaped was beginning to sink. _It must of got hit by lightning_ I thought _Poor Brock…I got to try and save him!_ I started searching the boat frantically for paddle. And after that…all I remember is a sudden wave crashing on to my boat, and then I blacked out.

The sun shone brightly in the sky, and the waves crashed against the shore. The beach was a white color, but all of them were like that. I hadn't awoken yet, but I was almost a hundred percent sure I was dead. It was hard to open my eyes, the light stung them, and I didn't really understand why. Finally I was able to open them a little bit, and I say a dark figure standing above me. I couldn't see who it was of course. The figure was just took dark.

"You alright?" He sounded gruff and harsh, almost mean like, but kind at the same time. Like I said before, I couldn't see him well, but I could hear.

I didn't answer at first, feeling too weak at the moment but I was able to get out "I don't know…"

I heard another set of footsteps approaching and the figure In front of me all of a sudden vanished, like a ghost. I knew he had probably just run off. Who was he?

"Hey, you!" He called out from far away "Are you alright?" his voice sounded and worn. He held a cane, and his head bald. He looked like he was around maybe 60 or 70 years of age.

The man came closer to me, until he was leaning down. "Hey miss, you alright?" He asked once again.

I sat up slowly and rubbed my hands against my eyes. The sun was bright, a little too bright for my liking. "Yes…sire. I think I'm alright"

The stuck out his hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Uh.." I squinted at his hand "Three?"

"Yup, nothings wrong with you" He stuck out his hand to help me up. "I'm Taro by the way. I live on this island, and as you can see form here." He pointed east. "There's a village just up ahead."

I glanced over towards where he was pointing, and sure enough, I saw small buildings. But one thing surprised me…there were no people. "Uh, where are the people?" I turned my gaze back to Taro. "A village isn't a village without people"

Taro looked back over to me. "Oh there's people, just no as many as we hoped" He began to lead me away from the beach. "There's me and my daughter, Felicia. She has some kids around your age, Elliot and Natalie. They're both really hard workers, and it' a blessing that they're living with us. Next…"

"Taro!" I heard a voice call from far off. I turned to see a blond headed girl run up to us, with a big smile on her face. "Who's this?"

"This is…why I don't recall. I never asked her name" They were now both looking at me with a curious expression on their face.

"Chelsea. My name's Chelsea" I looked down to the ground. "I was heading to the city, when a storm hit my boat. I guess I got washed up on to the beach here"

Julia smiled "Where were you going?"

"The city. I want to be a farmer, but I had to go to school to study…" I looked back up at Taro who had a big smile on his face "A farmer eh?" He looked over at Julia. "You can be our farmer. We really need one, it's the only way our village is going to grow any bigger"

"Yeah!" Julia put her hands on my shoulders. "Then we can be friends! And I can help you!"

I laughed "No…it's okay. I don't want to intrude"

"But I insist" He laughed "Sunshine Islands needs a farmer anyway…"

I paused _Sunshine__ Islands__? I was headed here after the city_ I rubbed my neck _I guess I'm stuck here for now. Might as well become a farmer. Who knows, I might like it and not need to leave_ I smiled. "Sure why not"

Julia Squealed. "Yeah!" She looked over at Taro "Have you showed her around yet?"

"I was just doing that when you…."

"I can do the rest!" She pulled me towards a barn like place

Taro shook his heads slowly "Alright! Just bring her to my house when you're done!" And with that Taro turned around and wandered down the pathway.

Julia had brought me into what looked like a shop or some kind. There was a counter on the left, and some animal stuff against the wall in front of me. So I assumed that it was a animal shop. A over weight lady with orange hair and blue apron opened the front the door and walked in.

She stopped walking when she closed the door and saw us standing there. Julia turned around and smiled brightly. "Hey Mirabelle! This is Chelsea, she's going to be our new farmer"

I didn't say anything, and I started to look down. My nerves were getting the best of me, again.

"A new farmer? Well, that's a relief. I was starting to wonder how we were going to sell our animals…" She laughed "Enough of my blabbering. You look like you could use a meal. Come and sit down, I'll make you something"

I blushed "No, I really couldn't…"

"But I insist" She smiled and walked off into the kitchen.

"Mirabelle Is kind lady" The door leading to outside opened once again. In walked a man with a black hat which covered his grey hair. He wore a cowboy suite, and his expression on his face indicated he was little grumpy.

"Vaughn!" Julia exclaimed "I would like you to meet Chelsea. She's going to be a farmer!"

I didn't look up at him. I kept my focus on the table, but Julia didn't seem to like that. "Chelsea! C'mon say hi"

I looked up to him and bluntly said "Hi" Like I said before, when I get nervous, I don't really talk that much.

Vaughn didn't smile. His expression stayed like it had before. "Hi" He didn't sound impressed. "Not that I expect you'll be here long…"

"Vaughn! Be nice! She just washed up on the beach form last nights storm!"

His eyes widened. But the expression, yet again didn't change. "Oh" I looked down once again towards the table.

"Oh? Oh! Didn't you see last nights storm? It was a hurricane! Can't you act a little concerned for someone besides yourself?"

He paused for a moment. I didn't think e was going to. "No" With that he walked off towards the door in the back and went inside,

Just then Mirabelle came back. "I made curry. I hope you like it" She placed it on the table and I began to eat slowly. "Julia? Has Vaughn come back yet?"

Julia frowned. "Yes. And he wasn't exactly cheery"

"I don't know what I'm going to do about him" Mirabelle sat herself across from me at the table and sighed. "I'm sorry about Vaughn Chelsea. He's unfortunately one of the few who doesn't have a cheery attitude. But it can't be helped…" She trailed off. "Hopefully one day, things will change. But for now, he'll just stay that way"

I thought about those words Mirabelle had told me. I was shy, and quiet, I guess like Vaughn, but I wasn't rude or anything. I sat on a stool in my house in which Taro had given me. It was on a large piece of land, but it was farmers land so I wasn't surprised at the size. I hadn't really hoped in starting a farm so early, but Taro had insisted, and I wasn't going to refuse. I began to ask myself something. Why was Vaughn so grumpy? I mean, shouldn't everyone smile once and awhile?. I just shook my head at myself _If you ever answer those questions, it would be a miracle._ Why? Because I'm way too shy.

_Authors Note_

I apologize for the horrible writing; I can get choppy when I rush things. I write the story as I go along, because it unfolds that way. I also apologize for it being short.

So yeah please R&R and I hope you will continue reading


	2. There's More than Meets the Eye

_There's More than Meets the Eye_

_Flashback_

Chelsea P.O.V

I hid under the bed and the fear that had been settling in my heart for all those years started to spill out. It was the night before my big move to the city, and I was excited to leave. It's kind of funny that things are never revealed to certain people, and to me, that was just horrible. There was a reason Grandma and Grandpa had never come to stay with us. Mom never told me, and neither did Daddy when he was alive. You see, my Grandma and Grandpa are alcoholics. They tended to influence my mother when she was around them, and when she got drunk, my head got chopped off. When I told you in the last chapter about my family, you didn't hear the minor details.

The night before I left, Grandma and Grandpa came over to say "good-bye" to me. They really just came to party, probably because they would have a whole lot of income soon. It was hard to see them there with my mother, they were laughing and drinking and doing things Dad had always told me to avoid. I guess you could say that the best solution was for me to lock myself in my room. In fact, that's just what I did. I spent most of my time reading, and dreaming about life on the new farm, but my trouble began at around 1PM just as I was about to go to bed.

"C-C-Chelsea" My mother slurred from outside my room

My eyes widened and my heart began to pound. "What?"

"Open the door for your dear old mother" She began to bang on the door

I felt the sweat start to break out on my forehead and fall down my face. I didn't want to open the door of course so I just didn't reply.

"Chelsea"

I still didn't answer.

"CHELSEA. OPEN THE DANG DOOR"

I felt myself get and open the door even though I didn't want to. It was like it was automatic or something. The first thing I remember after that, was blood, glass and a sudden shot of pain going up my arm. Then there was blackness.

I woke up a couple hours later in the clinic, and my best friend Elli was looking at me. "Oh! You're awake…Trent she's awake!" I was still a little dizzy. My head was pounding, and I felt hot under the covers. I attempted to pull them off, but Elli stopped me. "No, don't do that! You'll hurt your arm" That's when I noticed the sharp pain that hunted my arm. I felt like I was going to scream, it hurt so much. "Ow" I rubbed it up and down. "What happened?"

Elli planted herself on the end of my bed and rested her hand on the railing. "I was worried. I knew your grandparents were coming, and you're always hurt when they do..."

I shivered at the very thought. What she said was true, I was always in here when my grandparents came over. Last time (which was a long time ago) I had been brutely beaten. Elli had sent Dr. Trent to check up on me, and I really was thankful that she did. My grandparents had taken my mother to this little bar just south of our house, and they went after totally beating me. I was left lying on the floor in the kitchen. I was black blue all over my body, my head was bleeding, and blood was pouring out like a rushing stream. If Dr. Trent hadn't found me, then I wouldn't have survived an hour on the floor.

I shook my head violently. "So you checked up on me?"

Elli nodded "Yeah. We had to sneak you through the window just to be safe. If your grandparent had caught us..."She paused for a moment. "Well...let's just say we wouldn't be here"

Dr. Trent came in with a bottle of medicine in his hand. His hands were shaking a little bit, as if he were afraid of something bad. I continued to focus on Elli as she began to tell me her story and the doctor fixed up my arm. "Trent and I were in here just doing normal business, when we heard some voices. We didn't recognize them at all so I checked the window to see who it was. I saw your grandparents, and I quickly realized that you might be visiting us tonight. Trent told me that it would be best to go check up on you in case something bad were to happen. I told him it would be best if he did, because he's the doctor. Trent said that actually might be a better idea, so he left. A couple minutes later, he returned with you and we fixed you up a little"

I looked over at Dr. Trent who was still fixing up my arm. "Thank you..."

"No problem" He tightened the bandage on my arm and smiled at me. "We are friends after all"

I nodded. "I should probably get going" I through the covers off of me. "I have to get back home"

"Oh no, you don't!" Elli got up quickly and grabbed my wrist so I couldn't move. "I'm not letting you go back, it's too dangerous"

"She's right" Trent's smile faded "I know you're leaving in the morning, but can you just stay here? It's for your own safety"

I thought for a moment. They were right. They were always right. I wanted to argue with them. I really did, but I wasn't really in the mood for arguing. "Alright. I guess I could stay here the night."

Elli embraced me a tight hug. "Good! I wouldn't want anything to happen to you"

I nodded and let Elli drag me upstairs, to where the bedroom was.

Flashback Done

I awoke that morning at my usual time, which was always around 6AM. It was already Monday Spring 9, and I had been on this island for 3 days. That's 3 days of being free my all my problems, at least, free of my problems for now. Anything could happen. Right after I got dressed into my work clothes, I heard a knock at the door. I opened it to see Vaughn standing there. He had the same old scowl that looked like the one he had on the day I met him. His cowboy hat was covering his face, again. Was that a habit of his? And his left hand held a rope. At the end of the rope was a little ball of white fluff. "Baaaaaaa" It cried "Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

"Uhhhh" He looked down at the fluffy animal "I brought you the sheep you bought yesterday" He tugged slightly on the rope , and the little animal came

bounding to the doorway.

I knelt down on my knees and pet her slowly. She began to "ba" again. "She's sweet" I murmured not looking up at Vaughn

"Yeah...sure" He looked away from me and tried to focus his eyes on something else. "So...uh" He looked back at me "Do you know how to take care of animals?"

I checked my memory for a moment, and suddenly realized that I already knew how to do this. "Yeah, I do"

Vaughn frowned and didn't look away. I guess he was serious about this. "Show me"

"Uh...okay" I took the rope from Vaughn and walked her to my barn. He went ahead and opened the door for as I led the little lamb into the barn. I then proceeded to take the rope off, an the little lamb began to inspect her new home. Vaughn watched her curiously, as if he had never seen a lamb act like this. Well, for me it was normal, I guess. After this, I took some food out of the feeder and placed it in the bin. "Come girl" I called

The lamb come bounding towards me, and began to eat the fodder. "Baaaaa" She looked happy.

I then went out and grabbed a pale of clean water from the stream. Returning, I put that clean water carefully into the water bin.

"Why don't you use tap water?" I jumped. I had completely forgotten that Vaughn was in the room. Was he stupid though? Tap water wasn't good for animals!

"Because stream water is fresh and not fixed up like tap water" I grabbed my brush out of the tol shelf which was located by the feeder. I called the little lamb over, and she happily trotted over. She had jst finished eating, so I wasn't surprised that when I bent down she began to rub against me. I laughed and began brushing her slowly. I waited a couple minutes before I finally stopped brushing her. "There you go little girl" The sheep jumped in reply.

Vaughn stood by the doorway, and watched me in absolute amazement. I felt a little embarassed, I didn't like it when people watched me like that. I approached him with great curiousity. "Was that good enough"

Vaughn looked around, as if he wanted to know if anyone else was in the barn. "Yeah, I guess so"

There was a couple minutes of awkward silence. I felt as if one of us had just said something uterly disturbing. That is by the way, why most people use to not talk to me. Too many awkward silences. "Have...you thought of a name for her?"

"Chestnut" I looked down at my feet. And there was yet another awkward silence. (awkward silences love to follow me) We stood there for what seemedlike hours before Vaughn finally said something.

"Well, uh... He cleared his throat and turned around "I better get going...Got a lot of work to do still" And with that he left.

"Chestnut, I do't think I like him much" I looked over at the little lamb who had cuddled herself into the soft hay. "It's probably just me, but he seems..." I thought a moment so I could find the right wording. "Anit-social"

Chestnut gave a loud obnoxious "baaaaa"

"Yeah, Yeah" I rolled my eyes "I shouldn't be talking. I'm the same way...But Chestnut, there's a reason for that..." I shook my head in horror of the horrible dream I had that night. It was kind of like one of those "Flashback Dreams" when you dream about somethig that has happened to you. The dream I had last night, I could've gone without it.

"Well chestnut. I better go water my crops because it's..." I looked down at my watch "...almost 8'oclock. They'll be withered soon"

Chestnut immediately got up and bounded after me as I left the barn. "You want to come to..." The little lamb nudge me with it's head as a way of saying "I'm coming, too bad"

I laughed out loud. "All right girl, you can come"

Chestnut followed me as I grabbed my watering can and filled it up. I had only a couple of turnips this spring, because I had just started. Maybe in the future I would have more crops. I began to start watering them, and noticed Chestnut beginning to inspect the farm. She sniffed everything, from the weeds on the ground, to the wood in the wood shed. Almost like a cat. It took me awhile to water my crops, even though there were only like 6, but I eventually got the job done, and I sighed in relief.

"Hi Chelsea!" I had a cheery voice call form behind me.

I turned to look, and standing at my gate was Mirabelle. She held something small in her hand, and I couldn't tell what it was. "Oh, hi Mirabelle..." I answered very quietly.

"If you don't mind dear, could I ask you a favor?" She cradled the package in her hand as she walked towards me.

"Sure"

"My daughters best friend from overseas just sent her a present and frankly, it's not something we have time to take care of" The small package began to move.

I jumped "Uh..."

Mirabelle put the small package down, which now I could see wasn't a box. It was a blanket. There in front of me, was a puppy. "Aw, he's cute!"

"I know it's going to be hard taking care of a dog as well as a whole farm but..." She knelt down and began to pat the little dog. "He needs fresh air and wide open spaces. Not a small building that you could not exactly call home"

The puppy looked at me with its big black eyes. Its tail began to wag, and it reminded me of a speeding car. The dogs tongue stuck out, drool dripped on to the grass but none of the less, I thought this puppy was completely adorable. "I'll take care of him for you Mirabelle"

Mirabelle smiled "That's great. I'm glad you've accepted it. It's hard to get a good dog nowadays"

"Yeah" I nodded vigorously.

"I'd better be going. Julia is running the shop, and I can't be gone too long" She turned to leave, but halted after a coupl of steps. "Oh I almost forgot" Mirabelle turned back around. "I want to apologize for Vaughn. He's been a little rough around the edges lately. He's kind fo Anit-Social as you probably already know. But for some reason, he's been a little more frustarated with himself" She shook her head. "It started at the beginning of Spring, already 3 or 4. I don't know what's up with him" She looked down to the ground for a moment the looked back up as if nothing had been siad between them. "Well I got to go" She smiled at me again. "See yeah"

I was left standing in the middle of my grassy field wondering, what's up with this guy?

Authors Note

Hey everyone. I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I had my three exams this week AND I've been working on a grayxclaire video. I posted a random video online called Prologue: Lost Chicken. It's for harvest moon, and it has no point :P. It was going to be my beginning, but MFOMT has more backrounds PLUS i have an emulator, so it's easier for me. It's on youtube. It will be awhlie before the real video comes out. I hope you've enjoyed this story so far. I hope to actually finish this one, unlike most of my other stories. Please R&R, but you don't have to if you don't want to :)

p.s I would do a VaughnxChelsea video, but I can't find a Vaughn sprite :( if someone would find one, I would do a VaughnxChelsea video after this one :)

p.p.s I'm going to reveal in the next chapter what happened the day before Spring 9! heehee :) (:

p.p.p.s unlike all other stories where things are revealed to you at the beginning of the story, this one will reveal things to you THROUGHOUT the story about the main characters (Chelsea and Vaughn) and the other characters as well LOL. This is just to keep you reading the story :P heehee, i'm sneaky ';)


	3. It's Isn't Enough

"It Isn't Enough"

Authors Note: There are two flashbacks. This chapter is a flashback to the day before, and the day before spring 8, she had a flashback moment. So the first flashback

Flashback -Spring 8-

Chelsea P.O.V

The rain had begun only a moment before I was to go out. It's funny how the weather always changes for the worst when suddenly you decide to leave. It's like that for me. What's even worse, is that I had just finished watering my crops. I had a lot of them, turnips, potatoes and cucumbers. Wanting to get a a good start was the first thing that had popped into my mind when I first arrived here, and after asking for advice from Taro, I had been led to believe that crops was the easiest way to get money. At least, I was pretty sure it would be easy, so I took the liberty of planting 38 crops. I know it's a lot, but it pays in the end.

I decided after watering the crops that day, that i would use what little money I had to buy a sheep. I had enough to also buy fodder to last me until shipping day. I put the watering can and gloves away, then opened the door to leave only to discover that it was pouring rain. I knew it would be best not to go out, but I was determined to run a good farm even if it meant adventuring out into the blistering storm. I pulled my red bandana closer to my hair as I set out into the rain.

It was coming down really hard, and I could feel it as I ducked into town. Nobody was out right now, but I was expecting that. Rain tended to send most people indoors. Reasons at the moment I can't exactly give. I love the rain, and have never really figured out why people wanted to avoid it. Rain makes everything fresh and new. It waters the very nature in which we live in. Without it, the flowers and trees wouldn't grow, and neither would our food.

I opened the door of Mirabelle's shop to see a smiling Julia. "Hey Julia. What's with the smile?" Julia grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the shop. Her eyes had widened in shock, and her body was shaking. "Elliot just ask me out!"

I froze in shock. That nerd with the glasses and orange hair asked someone like Julia out? And she acted like she really liked it, like she really, really, REALLY liked it. Alright, life is now officially weird! "Alright Julia "I said firmly brushing her hand off my wrist "Who really asked you out? Denny? Pierre?"

"What?" Julia titled her head slightly. I guess she didn't understand what I just asked her. Julia suddenly started to laugh. "No! It was Elliot. Don't worry, everyone thinks I should be going after someone better..." She looked down to the floor "But...looks are always deceiving"

I rolled my eyes "You got that right"

Julia knew exactly what I meant and she giggled a little. "You mean Mr. Anti-Social?"

"Yup" I laughed. I didn't say anything else on the matter, because I tended to not make fun of people who were kind of like me, personality wise. It was true that we were similar, at least from I had picked up, he seemed kind of shy. I use to hang out with people exactly like him, which I regretted...All they wanted from other people was...uh, it starts with a s. I don't think we should go there right now...

I was lost in thought for a couple seconds, until of course I felt a punch on my arm. "Ow!"

"Hello?" Julia waved her hand in front of my face. "Earth to Chelsea!"

"I'm awake!" I said not making a big deal of it.

Julia laughed, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Honestly, what are we going to do with you"

I leaned up against the wall. "I don't know..." I looked around the shop, although I had already done this awhile back when I first came here, I had never noticed the full detail of the place. I didn't really have time to soak it in, for at that second Mirabelle came in. "Oh, hello dear" She smiled sweetly. "Is there something i can help you with?"

I nodded. "I came to buy a sheep" I approached the counter and threw the money on the counter. "And fodder for twelve days"

Mirabelle smiled. "Alright, I'm pretty sure Vaughn is out the back. He deals with the animal picking and stuff..."

"I was hoping that someone could bring it to my farm tomorrow. It's pretty bad out there, pretty annoyed that it had to start now..." I shook my head. "Considering that I had just finished watering my crops" I smiled. "But I'd like to take up your offer on picking it out now"

"Of course" She laughed out loud and gestured for me to go out to the barn "Just tell Vaughn I sent you"

I nodded "Sure thing"

I disappeared out the door, and walked towards the barn. The storm caused a gust of wind to slam the door open, and I suddenly flashed back.

_Flashback_

_It was a cold winter night in Mineral Town, only a couple days away was the New Years Festival. I had always loved that festival, because of all the pretty lights, good food, and the count down. Especially the Countdown. The excitement of the year coming to an end as everyone shouted 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year! Everyone would give each other hugs, kisses pats on the back, it's too bad I was always alone...When I mean alone, I mean that my family was never at the countdown. At least, not after Dad died. They were always at the winery getting drunk, but I tended to avoid that place even though the owners were friends of mine._

_There was this one specific year, I was only 8 years old. Elli and I had gone down to the New Years Festival with her parents. I had always loved Marianna and David Gills like they were my own mother and father. They treated me like their child, ever since my Dad had died when I was four years old. At the time, we were standing by the bulletin board, waiting for the famous count down. Elli and I were standing by the bench, throwing mud at each other when my mother came walking into town square from the south. I froze for a moment, a shear of fear aging through me. _

_Elli looked t me "Chel, what's wrong?" She began to shake me, trying to force reasons out of me. After a little bit of shaking, she shook her head and just looked to where I was staring. Elli saw my drunk mother. She was holding a bottle of alcohol, not pure alcohol of course, but it was drink with alcohol substance in it._

_Elli began to cry. "IT'S YOUR MOMMY!" She grabbed me as the tears started falling down my cheeks as well. We were by now, both crying, and we say her parents, they had no idea why. Mrs. Gills (Marianna) looked over towards the south entrance, her mouth opening up wide in astonishment. "David, take the kids to the house" She pushed the kids into Mr. Gills (David's) arms. He didn't hesitate to do as she said, and began to pull us towards the house. We sat inside for hours, scared for our lives, but Mr. Gills amused us with some new Polly pockets he had just bought at the store. But...we never saw Mr. Gills again. The next day I went home to a mother, who had no idea what had happened. It was like she had been there all night, and Mrs. Gills was never found._

_Flashback Done_

"...what?" A sudden voice took me out of my trance. Vaughn stood in front of me, his hand waving up and down. He had a confused look on his face, and for a minute he looked as if he was actually concerned for someone besides himself. I snapped out of my daydream, and looked shyly down to the floor. My cheeks turned a pinkish, reddish color.

"S-Sorry" I murmured softly "Just dazed off..."

Vaughn scowled "Well you shouldn't do that. Something could happen..."

"Like what?" I looked up at him curiously, my eyes widening.

Vaughn backed up a little bit, acting awkward and confused AGAIN. His eyes went down to the floor. "The dogs could get your animals, or your crops or something" He huffed as he pulled his hat down to hide his either anger...or blush. Well his face was red, really red. "I still think you're an unfit farmer..."

Vaughn turned around and stalked off to the barn leaving me there utterly confused. He had the nerve to just come up to me say "You're an unfit farmer". I may be shy, but I have a temper, and a real big one if I might add. I followed him into the stable. When I went in, Vaughn was standing near the back right hand corner, petting one of the little lambs. It calmed me down right away.

The little lamb looked over towards me and let out a big "baaaaaaa". It walked away form Vaughn and came hoping over to my feet. He didn't smile, which is when I decided to bring up his last statement. "I'm an unfit farmer?"

Vaughn growled "Yeah that's what i said. Is your hearing going or something?" He turned his back on me and began o sort out the animals straw.

"And why do you think that?" I crossed my hands across my chest, while feeling a glare grow on my face.

Vaughn stopped working for a quick second and turned around to look at me. "Well, you don't have any animals...You haven't ordered any. Plus, it's not really a good to start farming when you've had NO practice. AND the farm is a totaly wreck. Almost no buildings. The field is a total mess. It's just not a girls job" He turned back around and continued what he was doing. I felt myself look down to the ground. Anger was beginning to sprout inside of my heart, and mind. I could of sworn that everything in front of me had gone red. "Oh, so

I can't farm because I'm a girl?"

"No! No I didn't say that..." I cut him off

"But you were implying it!" I felt my face heat up. "You're so sexist!"

Vaughn turned around and stomped over towards me. "I am not!" His eyes went from amethyst color to red all in one second. Vaughn clenched his fists which were by his side.

"You think that just because I'm a girl I can't farm! I told Julia. I've told you, I can do it!"

"It's not enough!" He yelled "You need to actually do it! You actually need to run that rinky dinky little farm! Now unless you have any more business here, GET OUT!" He turned away from me and crossed his arms. I felt a sigh of annoyance, but it would pass. Hopefully. I turned around and went to the door, but just before I was going to leave turned my head slightly.

"Oh and by the way, I just bought a sheep. The one you had would be the best one for my farm" Then I left the barn.

Authors Note: As you can see, Vaughn was pretty nasty. But like Chelsea believes in this story, there is always a reason for someone's nasty attitude (at least sometimes). I hope you enjoyed this story so far :) I will try to create and put up chapter 3 as soon as i can :) R&R!


	4. Lost Job

**_Chapter 4: Lost Job_**

A couple days later I found Julia standing on my doorstep just moments after I had come in from watering my crops. It had been days since my decision on buying so many seeds, AND my argument with Vaughn. It was a Friday morning. Vaughn had come in the early morning while I was sleeping early and dropped the sheep off in my barn. I was still angry about our little disagreement. I was going to prove to Vaughn that I could run a farm by myself, even if it took my whole life.

I had told Julia my plans a couple minutes after I invited her in. And of course, like anyone else on this island, she was thrilled that I had decided to give it a whirl. I had decided upon starting the discussion to leave out the part where Vaughn and I had an argument. Although I was shy, being stubborn and arguing really brought out the worst in me. I guess you could say it was my weak point, arguing.

Julia was now seated on my couch near my bed. Her light blue eyes danced with excitement, and I felt as if she had something important she wanted to discuss. I debated whether it was good or bad.

"So.." I added after finishing my plan speech. "What's up?"

I watched as Julia's expression went form happiness, to sheer terror. Her eyes were now filled with pain and hurt, as if she had witnessed something life threatening. Julia lowered her head to the floor as she started to speak. "Chelsea…" She looked back up at me "I'm getting worried…about Vaughn"

I flinched. "What?"

"Well...it's just that…since he's my cousin and all…" Julia paused for a brief moment before continuing "He's been extremely grumpy lately and…well I'm not saying he's never not grumpy, because he always is but…" She got up, and started to advance towards the window. "He's been very angry lately and although I don't always act like I care…I really do"

My mouth was hanging open by now. Julia had admitted to caring about someone besides Mirabelle or Elliot. She did care about people, but it was rare that she said it about Vaughn considering they don't get along one hundred percent.

"Alright…" I crossed my arms "What do you want me to do?"

Julia turned around and her face lit up once again, a huge smile spread across her lips. She ran over to me, and I could feel a tight hug as she repeated. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you" over and over again.

I pushed her away lightly. "You haven't even told me what to do! Plus I never agreed…"

"You're so…" I could see Julia pause a moment and I assumed she was trying to find the right words. "…tricky"

I laughed. "Just spill out what you want me to do"

"Well" Julia sat herself back on the couch. "I want you to stick with you plan"

I frowned. "My plan…." I paused for a moment to reflect on our conversation. "Oh! You mean my 'Stay and Work on the Farm' plan?"

Julia pounced on me. "Yes! Exactly! If we can prove that you're capable of taking care of animals, maybe he'd lighten up a bit. I mean, that could be why he's mad. Vaughn always complains about how no one knows how to take care of animals properly"

I laughed. "I already proved him wrong on that. He asked me to prove I could take care of animals, and I did correctly" I shut my eyes and recalled the past memory. I remembered his shocked face, the small smile I thought I saw before he left. I remembered everything.

"So...I guess that scratches out that plan…" Julia sat down.

I knew why Vaughn was mad. He didn't think I was capable of taking care of an entire farm by myself because I'm a girl. I didn't know if I should mention it, because I would have to bring up the argument I had with him, and I just didn't want to do that, so I kept it to myself.

"How about you...make him fall in love with you?" A wide grin appeared on Julia's face as she backed up and crossed her arms. I felt as if she was implying that...I should...wait.

"Ha" I sat back in my seat "You're just joking right. Of course this must be a joke. Making him fall in love with me. Ha...Ha...Ha"

Julia scowled. "I'm not joking! Why can't you take me seriously?" She grabbed a piece of paper from her pocket and held it out for me to see. There was a small figure in the picture...maybe one or two years old. His eyes were a deep, beautiful purple, and his hair was a grayish colour. I squinted. "Is that...?"

Julia laughed. "Yup. That's Vaughn. Age 1 and a half" She slipped the photo into my pocket, patting it at the end. "It's a keepsake"

I laughed to myself. It had been a long time since anyone had given me one of those things they called "Keepsakes". "That still doens't mean I'm helping you"

Julia frowned, and almost instantly, she started to pout. "Please Chelsea" She folded her hands as if she was going to pray. "Please...This means so much to me. I mean if I marry Elliot...'

"No" I shook my head while lightly grabbing her wrist. "Now if you excuss me" I started dragging her to my door. "I have some things to take care of"

"But..." That was all I heard. I pushed Julia out the door, gave her an apologetic smile and quickly shut it. My legs turned to jelly, and my arms felt like ice melting away into the state of nothingness. I couldn't even believe the events that had just occured. Imagine. Julia wanting me to fall in love with Vaughn, I couldn't do that. Our personalities were too much alike, and I've heard rumors about what happens when people with same personalities get together. Lets just say it isn't a happy ending. I couldn't even imagein getting together with Vaughn. He's gumpy, rude...not to mention mean, annoying, troublesome. Yet, I bet you anything he thinks the same of me. I wouldn't be surprised after our arguement. I leaned against the door, and as soon as I could feel the hard floor beneath me. I traced back in my memories.

_Flashback -10 years previous-_

_It had been years since that day. I was young. I was too young to realize the hardships that would be coming towards me. I was nine years old, and and it had been six years since dad left me for the big planet in the sky.. My mom, crushed, heartless ever since Dad's death, had instantly decided to send me to a boarding school across town. I could never figure out why, I had always just assumed she wanted me to have a good education. But the longer I was there, the more I realized that I wasn't there for me, but because my mom didn't care. All she wanted me to do was marry some rich guy so she could have more alcohol money. Of course at the time I didn't realize it, because I was only four._

_I was sent away to the school during the fall semester. I was sad, lonely, angry, almost every emotion was whiping over me at the time. I couldn't understand why this was happening. Almost immediatly after I got there, I became a prime target for bullying. Why? Because I was the only one who couldn't afford a uniform. The only one who wore something other than a hat on her head. And the only one with no friends. I remember getting beat up all the time, gasping for air everytime a punch or kick hit me. I remember one girl, Mary Ellen, a beautiful blonde with blue eyes and a perfect figure. Although she was a couple years older than me, six at the time I believe. But she was known as the big bully. She even picked on the older kids with her minions. But if there was one thing I had learnt during my time at tha school, it was she loved new kids, because they were always her primary targets. The bullying was there, it was always there. And when I finally graduated form that school, I promised myself what I would never let myself fall into a bullies clutch. _

_Flashback End_

Throughout the rest of the day, I took care of my sheep. Chestnut, and Cocoa, the little one I had bought a couple days before. They were sweet little things, always following me and prancing around like know it alls. They both seemed to love making annoying sounds, because everytime I turned around, I heard the "Baaaa" over and over again. I couldn't exactly figure out how Julia dealt with this kind of thing. I had just finished with my animals, when i heard someone burst through my barn door. I turned around to see a frantic Julia come running over towards me. "CHELSEA!"

I looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"Oh" She shook her head violently. "Its awful, just awful!"

"What? What's awful?" I grabbed her shoulders and made her stare at me.

"It's Vaughn" Her eyes widened. "He lost his job"

**_Authors Note_**

**Uh-oh! Looks like Vaughn has lost his job! Is this why he has been so angry recently? Stay tuned to find out!**

**I apologize for not updating sooner, I've been EXTREMLY busy. And I'm sorry the update you've been waiting for is a really stupid one...But I will try my best as the story proceeds. I want it to be really good, but long :)**


	5. Just A Menace

_**Chapter 5: Just a Menace**_

I had always thought that Vaughn was just a hard working guy who woke every morning on the wrong side of the bed. So when Julia came in and exclaimed after stuttering for five minutes that he had lost his job, I just stood there, not showing any emotion. It didn't take me by surprise at all; I mean the guys obviously had a major mood issue and stereotypes a lot, especially when it came to what girls weren't capable of doing. But then, something deep down, really deep down, struck me. I felt, it's hard to describe, maybe sorry for him?

"Julia" I released her shoulders with quick movement but didn't bother to leave my spot. "Why are you telling me this?"

Julia stared at me in awe for a minute. It was as if she didn't even understand my language, my words. It was as if this was something very unusual, but I ignored her look. "Chelsea…" She looked into my eyes. "This has never happened" She trailed off with a big sigh. "He may have temper. He may be anti-social. He may have a thing against people. But he would never, ever lose his job" She glanced over her shoulder, searching the light that had crept into the barn. Julia turned to me, and I, with one glance, could feel the honesty in her eyes. "Chelsea…" Her eyes went to the floor. "Please! I know you don't like him…But something is wrong with Vaughn! Something has been wrong with for days now! Since…"

I had a feeling I knew where this was going. In a direction I hadn't intended to follow, but my feelings, the voice in my head, they were begging me to listen to her words. To help Vaughn. To do everything and anything I can. I ignored the words, trying to tell myself that I needed to stay in my comfort zone.

"Chelsea" Julia pulled my wrist towards the door. "I don't understand! He changed…after you appeared on the islands!" Vaughn had changed after I appeared on the islands? What?

That's what got me. I stood there, frozen. My eyes lost their sight and ears lost any source of hearing as I focused on her very words, which started haunting. "How?"

Julia continued to pull me, but she was more gentle now. It was as if my question hadd caused her to be a little more cautious and hesitant towards me. I couldn't understand, I just couldn't! Why was I making everyone on this island act so...funny? I mean, Julia, who had always been bubbly, and outgoing, was acting as if the world just exploded. Vaughn had come to hate me, and be so...sexist, yet Julia, over past conversations, had said that this wasn't normal for him... not normal at all! I suddenly got a strange, as if something, or someone, was causing them to act differently. I didn't press the matter, only in fear that it would make things worse. Instead I kept quiet, as Julia and I, now outside my barn, headed towards Mirabelle's, where Vaughn had supposedly been sulking even before Julia had come running to me.

We had just passed Chen's shop, when I felt a giant force push against my stomache, and I found myself staring at the sky. "Oh" I heard a soft voice say from above. "I'm s-so sorry" I lifted my head to see a black haried girl with purple ribbons and outfit. She wore glasses. I didn't smile at her, instead I got up and started brushing the dust off my shorts. "It's fine" I murmured even softer than she had. I looked up at her, and I could see she tears start to form in her eyes. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was crying girls. "I'm not mad" My voice was still low and soft. "I'm just...quiet" I looked down to the ground and crossed my arms. The girl sighed in relief. "O-okay. Sorry"

I looked up in time to see her adjust her glasses. "My name's Sabrina" She smiled sweetly. "My father is Regis. He owns a big mining company"

I nodded my head slightly, not saying a word. There was a couple minutes of awkward silence before Julia cleared her throat. "Ahem, I hate to bring up the subject but...my cousin and his job" she grabbed my wrist. "Get the picture"

I continued to keep my eyes on the ground while Julia started pulling me once again towards Mirabelle's shop. I felt sorry for Sabrina, leaving her by herself in the middle of the road with not so much as a good-bye, but before I could say anything, we were walking inside.

Mirabelle was at the counter, staring into an oblivious. It was as if something utterly disturbing had caused her to shut down entirely. Julia pushed me on to the couch, and ran over to greet her. I just sat there, lokoing down to the floor, wondering what I could possibly do to help. There really wasn't anything, I didn't even like Vaughn! I looked up at Julia, who quietly talked to Mirabelle. I felt sorry for them, really sorry. I knew that if I found a way to help, it would do them some good, but I couldn't! "Chelsea" I heard a voice from far off. I rose my head and saw Mirabelle, looking down at me with a sweet smile.

I nodded. "Hi" Standing up, I put my rucksack down. "Was there something you needed?"

Mirabelles smile faded. I knew why, as Julia had explained a couple minutes before. From her face, I saw dissapointment, anger, sadness, every negative emotion I could think of. I knew this was a way of getting me to help them. I suddenly heard a voice in my head. I could of sworn it was real, because I felt like the person was in the room. I scanned the lobby to make sure and confirmed that indeed, it was in my head. The was gentle, different from all the negative ones I had encountered over the past years, and it kept repeating "Help them".

I knew then what to do. "Where is he?" I kept my voice level low.

Mirabelle's face brightened a bit, as if now, there was a light of hope for her. For Vaughn. For Julia. "In the back. Been there ever since we got word"

I nodded my head in agreement, and as I made my back, looked over at Julia who was now smiling. She mouthed the words "Good Luck".

I smiled. Julia's eyes widened, it was the first time since I had heard from her about the incident that I had smiled. When I was ever down, a smile would never appear on my lips, in fact, a frown would most likely just stay there, never coming off until the a small trickle of hope would push its way through the darkness. I guess that's why she was really surprised when I smiled, but, that wasn't the issue at the moment. I turned my head back towards the door that stood in between me and Vaughn. I took in a heavy sigh, before lightly knocking.

"Who is it?" A rough voice said from the other side.

I felt anger rise up in my heart. I knew it was going to be difficult to deal with him, but this time, of all times, I was going to win this battle. Even if it meant he would hate me for all eternity. Without answering, I opened the door and stepped iside. Vaughn was laying on his bed, eyes to the ceiling, face in a bit of disturbance. I wasn't surprised in the least, he had been sulking there for awhile now, probably an hour. I closed the door behind me, only to see Vaughn jerk his head in my direction. |I never said you could come in" His tone was nasty, and angry sounding. I detected a hint fo disgust, but that wasn't going to stop me.

"Heard you lost your job" I kept my voice low.

Vaughn sat up. "What's it to you?" His eyes were hidden.

I didn't answer for a moment, and tries to find the rights words. "Well, have you done anything 'bout it?"

He pulled down his. "I don't need to talk to you" He rose, obviously disturbed by my question.

"Answer the question" My voice had risen a couple notches

He looked up at me. "I don't need to"

"Answer the question"

"No"

"ANSWER THE STINKEN QUESTION" My voice was now loud. When I mean loud, I mean REALLY loud. You couldn't heard me from Taro's house.

Vaughns eyes turned red again, just like the last time we argued. His hands were clentched together into a fist. "Shut up!" He tried to push past me. But I stopped him, not even letting his hand touch the doorknob. My emotions were spilling out, almost out control. I felt angry, yet upset at the same time.

Vaughn grabbed my hand and pulled it away. I felt a sudden pain, and looked down, to see scratches on my hands. I felt my anger burst out of me. That was it! i pulled back my other hand, and swung it forward as hard as I could. It sent him back a couple steps, but right after, I felt something hard against my stomache. A feeling of nausia passed over me, but I fought it. I had to win. I took one more swing at his face, this time having more impact. Vaughn fell the floor, obviously in pain.

"You don't get it, do you..." I could feel the tears whell up in my eyes. "Here you're saying I can't run a farm. That I'm took weak" I looked at him, his head was still down and his hands were touching his jaw. "Yet you don't even have enough backbone to fight for your stupid job"

That hit something. He slowly stood up, and made his over to me. I closed my eyes waiting for him to hit me, but it never came. I opened my eyes, to see him, staring down at my face. He wasn't any happier looking, but I felt something in me burst. "You don't think I've tried" I pressed his hand against the wall on the other side of the door and put his closer to me. He stopped right before our noses touched, and his glare grew. He was trying to distract me.

I couldn't take it. I just couldn't. I had to get him away form me! I had to get him far away. I pushed him back hard, and by now the tears were falling. "YOU STUPID MORON. SITTING HERE SULKING ISN'T GOING TO DO ANYTHING!"

Vaughns eyes stared at me in shock. My head was spinning. My heart was racing. My eyes were hurting. I had to get out of there. "You're such a Coward!" were my last words before I opened the door and raced out of the shop, not caring about anyone else's idea's"

Minutes later, I felt mayself bump into someone. I landed on the ground, my eyes swollen from the crying. I looked up to see Sabrin looking down at me, in shock. "Are y-you okay?"

I looked at her for a couple seconds before I felt more tears stream out of my eyes. I didn't know how I was going to get through this, I was too confused. I knew I was a pain, I did! I was asked to help, yet I only made things worse. I was a menice, and no one was ever going to think differently.

**_Authors Note_**

**Heehee, I left you with a cliffhanger :) I'm so mean! LOL, anyway, the flashbacks are going to be on hold for a little while. I need to get the story rolling before we find out any other information about the main characters. Also, I'm working with an online friend on a new Vaughn x Chelsea fanfic! It's reall interesting fo far, so look out for the first chapter of that! Anyway, R&R! And stay tuned for the next chapter! :)**


	6. Just Gotta Try

_**Chapter 6: Just Gotta Try**_

_**Authors Note**_

**Hey everyone! I realize now that my last chapter had a ton of spelling errors and I apologize! I have to continue the story while it's fresh and I promise once the story has been complete, that I will go back and fix the stories spelling errors. Ignore them for now, and enjoy the story!**

"Here you go" Sabrina handed me a pink cup. Her hands shook as I accepted the cup and sipped it quietly. She didn't say much. Kind of like me. "I don't mean to p-pry" Sabrina sat on the pink leather couch opposite me while crossing her legs. "B-but, why are you…."

I held my stomach, while looking down to the floor, not bothering to meet her gaze. My stomach had immediately felt horrible after Sabrina guided me to her place. It hadn't lifted yet, which is why I had been handed Ginger tea.

I didn't know If I could trust Sabrina. She seemed….too much like me…and Vaughn. She didn't speak much, in fact hardly at all. I guess it took me by surprise when she asked about stomach. "Well…" I felt my stomach lightly. "I was punched" I paused for a moment. "..by Vaughn' I looked up to see her reaction, which was very unexpected. Sabrina looked calm and collected, like she had been expecting this to happen all along.

"I got mad at him and well…in return he punched me hard" I laughed softly "Of course, I gave him a bit of a beating myself"

Sabrina smiled, for the first time. It was sweet, considerate and really amazing. I guess when people don't smile too often, you end up wishing they did.

"Sound like you had fun" She continued to smile

I nodded. "But now…he really hates my guts. I want to resolve this problem, I really do, I just don't know how..." I spilt the words out. I felt comfortable around Sabrina for some reason, it was like she had been through this problem before.

There was a long awkward pause, before Sabrina finally said something. "Chelsea...c-can I...give you some adive?"

"Yeah" I shook my head

She began fiddeling with her fingers, and lowering her eyes to the floor. "With Vaughn...you need to do more than just prove yourself"

I frowned. I didn't quite understand what she just said. What more could I do? I sat there staring at her for a long time before she finally looked at me. "You need to help him" It was almost like she could read my mind. I sat back in my seat, wondering what she meant by her last statement. Before I could answer, I heard the door open. I looked over and saw a creepy guy with a cape. For a moment, the word vampire went through my mind.

"Sabrina!" The man called "I'm back!"

Sabrina looked at him and smiled. "Hi Father! This is Chelsea" she gestured towards me. "Chelsea this is my father, Regis"

I continued to stare at the man, as he did me. we had a contest for about a minute, before he let out a burst of laughter. "It's nice to met you. I hope you've been in those mines working"

"No sir. Volcano island hasn't be raised yet" I suddenly felt nervous, and looked down to the floor. i had remembered that Regis was a stanger.

Regis thought for a moment. "Oh yes" He scratched his chin "I forgot"

Sabrina smiled, and I did the same. We sat there in silence, before Regis finally said. "I don't mean to be a bother, but I have to ask you to leave. You see, it is nearly six o'clock"

I decided that it would be best not argue, so I got up, said good-bye to Sabrina and left. As i stood outside the house, I thought back to Sabrina's words "You need to help him". I couldn't figure out what she meant by that. How was i suppose to help him if everything I did made things worse? I mean there were only two things I could do...wait...Then it hit me, maybe I needed to do something about this. I suddenly found the perfect solution. I checked my watch "5:50". The boat would arrive in ten minutes. I checked my wallet, only to find just over a thousand dollars, just the right amount. I rushed off towards the docks, praying quietly to myself that I would get there in time. By some miracle, I did make it, because the boat was just docking. I handed the captain some money as I boarded, and took a seat on the deck. Minutes later, after we had started on our way to the city, the captain approached me. "You Miss Chelsea?"

I looked up at him, trying to control my nerves. "Y-yes"

"Wow" He stuck out his hand "I'm Reginald, the captain of this here boat"

I nodded my head "Nice to meet you"

"What's your business traveling so late at night?" He sat down on the seat beside me

I looked out over the ocean as i tried to find the words to explain my situation without revealing too much information. "I'm trying to help someone in need"

The captain smiled "Well. That's real fine of you, miss" He checked his watch. "And I hate to cut this conversation short, but I need to check the boat. Make sure she's runnin' fine"

I felt myself sigh in relief. I hated talking to strangers, I hated talking in general, although sometimes I would get carried away. But right now I had a mission: Help Vaughn Get A Job.

_Later: 7PM_

I stood outside of Rick's house. I had landed in mineral town only a couple minutes previous, as I was trying to get this done with as quickly as possible. I knocked softly on the door, and waited a couple minutes for it to open. When it finally did open, there in front of me stood a beautiful lady with pink hair. Her eyes widened in shock. "Chelsea?" She grabbed my wrist and pulled me in, shutting the door behind her. "Rick! Karen! Chelsea's here!"

The next couple minutes were full of happy moments. Talking, hugging, rejoicing! Karen was a medium sized girl with brown hair containing light brown highlights and green eyes. She was wearing a light purple vest as well as a white shirt and blue jeans. Her husband, Rick, had orange hair and glasses. Her wore a blue apron with a green shirt, brown pants and light brown shoes. I smiled, for the sake of it, before ending the hugging times and getting down to business. "Listen guys, I'm only here on business matters"I said reluctantly releasing Rick from our hug.

Karen's smile faded. Her dancing face went from happiness to gloomy all within a second of that statement. I noticed right away, and put my hand on her shoulder, giving her a small smile. She looked at me, seeming to get the picture. "Alright"

I laughed softly and put my hand down to my side. "I have a question"

"A question...?" Rick crossed his arms. "You came all this way to ask a question?"

I mentally kicked myself. Rick could get very angry about certain things, especially if it involved chickens and such, but this was a matter I had to resolve right now. But suddenly, I had a feeling of regret. "I need to know..." I paused a moment before finishing the sentence "...why you...fired Vaughn?" i squinted slightly, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way.

Rick looked at me, almost with a look that signaled he didn't want to talk about it. He shifted his glasses slightly, and a frown replaced the smile. "That's none of your concern"

"Rick, it is my concern" I answered back, hoping silently that this wouldn't turn into another yelling match. "Sunshine Islands gets those animals. Mirabelle gets those animals. I get those animals. You can't just stop sending us animals! It'll kill us" By now I had become angry. My body raged with an urge to yell at the top of my lungs.

Rick scruntched his face in disbelief. "Whatever Chelsea"

"Just promise me that you'll continue to send animals" I watched as Rick's face went completly white. For a moment I thought he was going to say no. "Yeah. We will somehow" He huffed the last words, before removing his blue apron and going through a back door.

I decided to leave, I felt tension in the air now and I had a feeling that I wouldn't be welcome in the house for a little while. I exited out the door without saying a word, and started towards the clinic. I had reached the town square when a dark and cruel thought hit me. Elli and Dr. Trent had gone on a trip. I remembered at that moment that she told me about it on the docks before I left. hit myself for not remembering because now, I didn't know where I was going to stay the night. I just prayed that the wild dogs wouldn't get me.

_**Authors Note**_

**Sorry, this is a rally bad chapter :( But it leaves you with a cliffhanger and the question how will Vaughn react when he finds out Chelsea tried to get him his job back?**


	7. Burning Your Bridges

**Authors Note**

Sorry the chapters haven't been very good, heehee. I'm trying, but when I write with a mind block, the chapters are usually extremely horrid! I'm going to try even harder now so I can get this next chapter done right

_**Chapter 7: Burning Your Bridges**_

The sound of birds woke me up from my deep slumber. I found my back to be quite painful, so I stretched, hoping to make it feel better. But as I arose from the small bench where I had planted myself for most of the night, the sharp pain from my stomach returned and I fell to the ground. I couldn't feel my stomach, it was as if it had disappeared in the daylight, never to return again. All that was there a pain, a sharp pain. I struggled to stand up, hoping that the pain would die down, but it wasn't very easy to stand. I felt the pain growing and growing every second I stood, every time I took a step. I couldn't bare it. Then I remembered Rick. I remembered his agreement, and I remembered what took place.

_I have to get back_ I told myself, gasping for air. I checked my watch, noting the time. Taking a chance, I started walking towards the boat, only to be greeted by the pain of my stomach, and the aching of my back. I knew it was going to be hard, I just knew it! But I couldn't give up, Mirabelle and Julia were depending on me, plus I still had to prove Vaughn of my capability to farm. Slowly, very slowly, I started making my way to the boat, hoping they had waited for me. The pain? It was horrible! It was like someone had snuck up on me in the middle of the night, and with a sharp item/tool, had stabbed me in the stomach dozens of times before pushing me down, and stepping on my back. I could feel the pain grow sharper and sharper with every single step I took.

I continued slowly down the path leading to south part of town, and I found myself slowing my pace as I got closer to the boat. My breathing became heavy. My eyesight wasn't clear. My head was foggy. My body was turning limp. But I finally reached the docks, and luckily the boat hadn't left yet. I heard some distant murmur, before feeling a arm go around my shoulders.

I looked up to see the captain "Hang on Miss. We'll get you back to Sunshine Islands immediatly!"

I didn't bother to respond, by then my mouth wasn't working. Everytime I opened it to catch my breath, the pain in my stomach would lurch, only making me weaker and weaker by the minute.. I was seated on a chair, and the captain immediatly gave a hand signal. The boat started to move, and suddenly, the pain started to get worse. By now, I was crying, and the captain, noticing my pain asked if there was anyone he could call. Between the crying, and the pain, I squeeked out Mirabelle's Animal Shop. The captain patted me on the head before rushing off. He returned minutes later, stating that they had been informed and were going to wait at the docks for me. I sighed in relief, only to continuing crying in pain.

An hour later, with the pain only slowly worsening by the second, we docked. I decided to be strong. To not cry any longer. I got up, half huntched over, and started walking towards the exit. The captain offered me his shoulder, but I refused it with a simple stare. It was my mistake to refuse. I slowly made my way off the boat, and scanned the beach to see Mirabelle, Julia and...Vaughn? Julia rushed over to me, embracing me in a tight hug. Before I could say ouch, I felt myself go limp at her touch. And soon, my world went black.

I felt myself walking in the darkness. I couldn't see anything, not even a single light in the shadows. I felt alone, sad and confused. Why was I here? Did I do something wrong? A bright light suddenly appeared, casting off the shadows of the day. A figure with green hair, and beautiful form stood before me. Suddenly i felt my sorrows and anger go away, replaced with joy and happiness. I reached for the figure but she raised her hand, obviously stopping me. "It's not your time dear" She lowered her hand.

I felt myself grow impatient. If I wasn't dead, why was I here? Was there a certain task for me? Was I suppose to do something? Was I suppose to repent? I shook my head, looking down to the black floor. The women stood there, and smiled. "I'm the Harvest Goddess" She lifted up one hand, and a small mirror appeared.

"I thought the Harvest Goddess was only a myth..." I said under my breath. My eyes went back up to her face, and I started to doubt my current belief. My mother had always exclaimed, louder than anything else, how much the harvest goddess was a phony and there was no such thing. After my pain, I started to doubt, only because I had never been saved. There had never been a miracle. And I was always alone.

The Harvest Goddess looked at me affectionatly, and the positive emotions started to wind themselves around my heart. I couldn't explain it, something about this person in front of me made me forget all the negatives in my life. The pain. The anger. The people. Everything. The Harvest Goddess stood there, and wove her other hand around the mirror. "I am not a myth" She exclaimed, lowering her hand to her side. "I was never a myth, and never will be a myth"

Suddenly, pictures started appearing on the mirror. A volcano errupting. People screaming in terror. Bodies on the streets, and sidewalks. Heacy storms. Raging hurricanes. People suffering. my eyes widened in disgust, and I focused my attention on the mirror. Suddenly, there was the ocean with islands, like the one's back home. Slowly, very slowly, they started dissapearing under the water, and one by the one, they were gone. I felt shocked, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. And with one flick of a motion, they were gone. The mirror dissapeared, and The Harvest Goddess looked at me sadly. "Things have changed" She began. "No one believes. The power I posses is starting to fade away. If this continues, eventually no one will believe and the islands will dissapear. It is my power that allows them to float on the waters without so much as a rock underneath. Everyone on the islands will die if these nightmares come true"

I didn't understand. Was it so hard to believe? I then back to myc childhood, and to that fact that I didn't believe before I had seen her with my own eyes. I decided to ask a question. A question in which would probably save the lives of the people living on the islands. "What can I do?" I crossed my arms, hoping for an answer.

The Harvest Goddess smiled. "There are things around the island called sun stones. You earn them by farming, socializing and looking" She held one up. "They give me my power, and with them, we can save the islands"

The sun stone, a round shaped stone with a purple colour, came towards me in midair. I opened my arms and allowed the sunstone to hover over them, before it suddenly fell. I caught it, holding it up so I could see it clearly. After a moment of observing, I looked back at the Harvest Goddess. "So you caused me pain and made me faint just to tell me this?"

The Harvest Goddess looked at me. "Sorry dear, but it was necessary to tell you this. You've been chosen to save the islands. You could be a hero, or a coward if you don't chose to accept" She giggled. "But it's not my decision" She started to dissapear, and I suddenly remmebered my situation.

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "What am I suppose to do with the situation? How am I suppose to help him?"

The Harvest Goddess sighed. "I can't reveal anythign to you Chelsea, but you already know what to do. You're just unsure about it" She laughed sweetly, dissapearing into the darkness. "Remember" a voice said. "The islands, the people, and I are counting on you"

The pain returned, and I felt myself fall into a pit. A pit with no bottom.

"...chelsea?" A voice echoed. "Chelsea can you hear me?"

i suddenyl felt something on my head. It was wet and cold, and the fabric was rough. I didn't answer, the pain was too much.

"The pills Mirabelle!" I heard another voice say. "They must of worn off! We need get more!"

Mirabelle, the first voice, sighed. "Vaughn!" I heard her exclaim. "We need the pills!"

I couldn't stay silent any longer. I couldn't let them suffer. I couldn't! I just couldn't! "Julia" I felt the word slowly escape my lips.

I felt something wrap itself about my hand and squeeze it. "It's alright Chelsea! I'm right here"

"Here" Another voice said. I felt my breathing start to increase rapidly. My heart was racing like a car. I felt not two, but three bodies by my side, and I knew who the third was. I felt something get shoved down my throat, and then the pain started to go away. My breathing slowed down, and eventually, I opened my eyes. At first it was blurry, the light was bright and my head swirled. "Chelsea?" One of the voices said softly. She upset, like something important to her had been lost. "Can you hear me dear?"

My eyesight started to clear up slowly. I could feel stares resting on my face. I looked over towards the three faces who I could now reconize. Julia, Mirabelle and...Sabrina? My eyes shot to the couch where Vaughn sat, obviously angry about something. I looked to the ceiling, desperate for the words I needed to say. "Mirabelle?" I looke dover at the women.

"What is it honey?"

I took a deep, slow breathe. "Animals will come"

"What?"

"I..." I looked to my feet. "...went to Mineral town. I asked Rick, my friend, why he...wouldn't sent animals to us. I...persuaded him to send animals" I looked back at Mirabelle, and her face started to glow. "It's not...his fault" I lifted my hand slowly, and pointed in Vaughn's direction. "I...did it on my own. And I..." I felt a sudden drowsy spell wipe over me. "..have the solution to the problem" Then I fell into darkness once again, and lowered my hand.

I opened my eyes again, this time it was dark. The room was covered in a shear volume of shadows. No lights, just like my dream, covered the room and I felt slight panic hover over me. I got up, noticing the pain had almost vanished. I got out of bed and went to leave, whena hand grabbed my shoulder. "Where do you think you're going?" I heard a gruff voice say.

I looked behind me to see Vaughn. Althought it was dark, recnoizing him was not hard. I shrugged off his hand, and went to grab the doorknob. "None of your business" I was still irritated at him. He had no right knowing where I was going all the time.

Vaughn, obviously reading my mind, grabbed my shoulder a little harder this time. "You're sick" He muttured "Sick people don't walk. They sleep"

"Whatever" I sighed. I opened the door, and walked out, only to be followed by him. "Don't follow me" I said, walking towards me farm. He didn't listen, instead he grabbed my shoulder again and by then it was getting really annoying.

"Look" He stopped in his tracks, while I looked back at him. I could see clearly now, his jaw had a big white bandage and his face was bruised from where I had hit him. "I-I'm...sorry" He looked to the ground, obviously disturbed. "I didn't mean to yell. But you really shouldn'y pry into other people's business"

Oh great, more argueing. "Look, I don't care at all about that" I turned my whole body to face him. "I went to mineral to prove I can do somthing and because..." I paused for a moment, mentally kicking myself for getting myself into this position. "...you needed help"

Vaughn's eyes widened. He looked at me, and I suddenly felt a tension in the air. "I don't need help from you!" He crossed his arms. "Or your stupid friend"

Vaughn turned to leave, like he had won . But I was going to finish. "Good! I guess you don't need that job I was going to offer you too!" I exclaimed turning my back to him. "I was even going to pay you half, well, now I don't even know if I'll give you the darn job at all!"And with that, I left. I knew i needed to give him the job, but right now, I just couldn't.


	8. Apologies

**Authors Note**

So, I added a cliff-hanger at the end of the last chapter in order to make you want to read the next chapter! My fanfiction is now available on youtube as I began the process of reading them out loud. So, let's continue the story.

_**Chapter 8: Apologies**_

It had been a week since that day. Ever since the conversation, Vaughn hadn't said a word to me. He didn't even look my way, not that I cared at all, I mean, not having anything to do with him was totally fine with me. Julia, however had other ideas in mind. She had insisted, one day a week later when I went to get more feed, that Vaughn should help me with my farm until I got better. Mirabelle backed her up, saying it would be his way to wish me get well. Trust me, the sky would have to turned green before Vaughn would offer willingly to help, but he didn't protest, in fact, he even agreed, on his own free will!

"Yeah" He had said, not removing his glance from the paper in front of him. "Whatever".

So there I was, sitting in my house, cuddled on the sofa, waiting patiently for Vaughn to finish and leave. I wanted to help, I really did, but Julia had insisted that I resumed work after my back, and stomach had completely healed. They were still sore a little, but the pain had worn down a great deal since the accident. Vaughn's bruises had gotten better as well, only small faded red marks remained.

It was late. I checked my watch noting the time, 12:30PM. My dog, sitting on the end of bed, wasn't his normal bounding self. Instead, he was lying there fast asleep and obviously very tired. He looked pale, almost green like, and his tail wasn't wagging, but lying behind him on the bed. I knew at the sight, that he was sick.

I foolishly opened the door, not closing it behind me. Vaughn, who had been leaning against the house, froze as I ran by him towards town. I could feel his cold eyes on my face. I heard him mutter something, but I ignored it, focusing on my goal. I reached Mirabelle's shop with not a second to loose.

"Mirabelle" I exclaimed from the door "I need animal medicine right away!"

Mirabelle poked her head from under the counter. Her eyes had widened in shock, and confusion. "What are you doing here? And out of bed too!"

I shook my head violently. "That doesn't matter!" I threw money on the counter. "I need the animal medicine!"

Mirabelle shook her head, and walked quickly to the back shelves where the items were being held. She put the medicine on the table and I grabbed it, rushing back through the doors while exclaiming over my shoulder. "Thanks Mirabelle!"

Before I could hear her answer, I was out the door, running back to my farm. As I got to the house, I felt something beneath me give away and I flew, hitting my head hard on the ground. The medicine thankfully didn't break, landing on a soft patch of grass near the house. My head wasn't hurting, at least, not as bad as I had thought. It pained a little, and I looked down to observe sand, which is what i assumed my head hit. I moved my hand towards the pain and fellt a bump, the size of a small rock near on my forhead. A shadow, a deep dark shadow, approached me from the one side. I looked up towards the sun, to see a figure. But this wasn't just a figure, it was THE figure. The figure that saved me on the beach that day. He wore a hat, a black cowboy i think and...wait...a black cowboy hat?

"Watch it" He scolded me "You could get yourself hurt"

I took his hand and stood up while touching the bump on my head. Vaughn handed me the small blue container of medecine. I looked at him over and over again and asked myself, why didn't I realize this before? It was so obvious. Vaughn was the one who saved me that day, yet I had been treating him like garbage this entire time! No wonder he was angry with me. Maybe I am an unfit farmer, maybe I don't deserve everyone's sympathy? I couldn't tell. I didn't understand. My thoughts were rambled.

I let go of his hand, and glanced to the floor. "Thank you" I said softly, before brushing past him and going inside. I slammed the door behind, and opened a small window. The medecine, still in my hand was a little dented, but the contents wouldn't be altered because of that. I approached my dog quietly, while lifting my hand from the bump and proceeding to take off the lid. As I walked past the kitchen, I grabbed his water bowl, hoping that he'd drink something. I sat beside him on the bed and witnessed his little eyes open softly. After putting the medecine in the bowl i lift it to his mouth and he drank deeply.

I observed his actions. "Haven't named you yet, have I boy?"

He looked at me, sad and lonely as ever. "Hmmm" I thought for a moment. "What about Diego?"

I could of sworn the dog smiled. I laughed quietly before placing him on my lap and stroking his head. "You want me to sing you a lullabye?"

The dog whined as I smiled to myself."Alright boy"

**"Hush little baby don't say a word**

**Mamma's gonna buy you a mockingbird**

**And if that mockingbird don't sing**

**Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring"**

Then, all of a sudden, something hit me.

_Flashback -The Night Before The Accident"_

**_"..and if that diamond turns to brass_**

**_Daddy's gonna buy you a looking glass._**

**_And if that looking glass gets broke_**

**_Daddy's going to buy you a baby-goat"_**

_I sat in my bed, listening to my daddy sing me a lullabye. Mommy was out working late, and everynight Daddy would sing me the same song until I fell asleep. I loved my daddy, he was very kind and his voice was very much like silk. He was funny, always telling me jokes. And he loved me, he said he did. That night I fell asleep just like very other day, but i didn't know what was in store the next morning_

_Flashback Ended_

Suddenly, pictures of the accident came into my head. The blood. The screaming. My dad squished between the seat and the wheel. My head suddenly endured a sharp pain, it was so bad, I screamed really loud. I felt tears whell up in my eyes, and an anger rose in my heart. I had to get away. I had to go somewhere I could relax, so in a hurry I ran back out my door and over to town.

I found myself a couple minutes later, sitting on the dock near the beach. My eyes were dizzy and my head was hurting. I thought of ways to calm myself down but everytime I tried, the pain came back. Eventually, I gathered all my strength and staretd to sing the lullabye.

**"And If the baby-goat won't pull,**

**Momma's gonna buy you a cart and bull**

**And if the cart and bull turns over**

**Momma's gonna buy you a dog named Rover**

**And if that dog named Rover won't bark**

**Momma's gonna buy you a horse and cart**

**And if the horse and cart go down**

**You'll still be the sweetest baby in town"**

I couldn't believe the words as they came out of my mouth. They brought happines yet pain at the same time. I started to think about my farmlife. About the past, the present and the near-future. _Am I a good farmer?_ I asked myself, desperate for an answer. I didn't know anymore, everyone was saying so, at least everone except the person who actually knew stuff about good farmers. Vaughn didn't believe in me and normally that wouldn't bother me, but it did this time and I couldn't understand why.

I took the photo that Julia had given me out of my pocket and scanned it for a second before ripping it up and throwing it into the ocean. The currents carried it away, far away and I watched until they dissapeared. I felt the sadness and doom wipe over me. It was like a sea of death had opened its mouth and was waiting for my to jump in.

I felt something on my shoulder and i looked over to see a chocolate bar. Vaughn was standing over me, obviously not happy, but not overly grumpy either. I was surprised, he was never nice before. But I guess things can change, so I took it from him and smiled for the first time in awhile. "Thank you" I murmured, shoving the bar in my pocket. He stood there for a minute and I realized that now might be the best time to solve the rest of his problem. "You can work..." I tried to find the right words "..at my farm. I'd pay you half everyday" I didn't look at him, with the slightest feeling of sadness.

I heard him sigh. "Yeah" He knelt down. "I'd like that"

And we sat there for a moment before getting up and heading back to town.


	9. Helping A Cowboy

**Authors Note**

**Hey everyone. So the last chapter's apology in case you didn't catch it, was at the end. There was a little spark between Vaughn and Chelsea when he gave her the chocolate bar, and so now you're probably asking, why were there like 7 chapters before the first heart scene in the game? Well….you'll have to wait for the answer in the next chapter heehee. Anyway, enjoy!**

_**Chapter 9: Helping the Cowboy**_

Things, according to me and my mind, had fnally started to settle down. Vaughn was now working for me every single day, except of course Wednesdays and Thursdays. On those days, you'd find him at Mirabelle's feeding the animals, donig paperwork, that kind of thing. Rick kept up his end of the bargain by continueing to send animals with someone new...his wife. Karen hadn't really spoken to me since that day, but I'vealways been to busy to go out and say hi anyway, because I didn't want to get in her way. Mirabelle had showed up on my doorstep one morning bearing gifts; two cows and a sheep, as well as money to pay for a barn upgrade. I kept refusing these gifts, but she had insisted stubbornly that it was the least she could do for helping their business. Without those animals, they would've left. I decided on names there and then, Bertha and Lydia for the cows and Lily for the sheep.

I guess you could say that things were progressing smoothly. Vaughn wasn't mean to me anymore, at least, he didn't yell at me every time we met. We only talked once and awhile, normally saying "hello" and "goodbye". But things were still progressing. I had gotten a couple sun stones, one was near my windmill (i found it!) and the others were earned from animals and upgrades. I was happy to conclude that I had enough to raise link island, the first out of all those islands.

It was a Wednesday morning on Sunshine Islands. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining brighter than ever before. I pulled my bandana further down on my head, hoping that the end of Springs sun would let up fast and soon. I could feel the starting of summer as flowers finished blooming. I was on my way to a small island, used to bring up the different islands, when I heard chatter in the distance, coming from Mirabelle's farm. I reconized the voices as Vaugh and Denny, obviously bickering on something. As I got closer, the words became more clearer. "..sure?" One voice said.

I was close enough to see Vaughn crouched on teh ground, his back to me. Denny was behind him, lokoing over Vaughn's shoulder. "You sure you don't need any help?"

Vaughn growled. "No! I can do it myself..." He continued searching as Denny shrugged his shoulders and walked towards the beach.

I stood there moment as my mind fought on what to do. My eyes scnned VAughn, frustarated and angry. I felt myself moving towards him, although my nerves fought against my body. "Hi" I murmured, not making eye contact.

Vaughn turnd his head around slightly, not looking directly at me. "Hi"

I found myself getting closer. "Want help?" I looked back at him

He hesitated for a moment, almost a if he didn't know how to respond.

"It isn't any of your business" He exclaimed turning back around to look.

I felt a little upset at his reponse, and I felt my courage start to grow as my nerves died down. "You sure?"

Vaughn continued to look, his eyes never leaving the ground. His hands immediatly halted at my words. "Well" He paused a moment as if he once again didn't know what to do. "Yeah, I guess I can trust you"

I continued to frown and walked over to another part of the empty lot, looking. "What did you loose?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the ground.

He looked at me. "It's a small black box. It has all my tools in it, and I need it for work" His voice was soft, but not low or harsh like he would usually talk.

I nodded my head and continued to look. Almost after I started looking something caught my eyes. It was a black small black rectange thing, not any bigger than a tool set. I picked it up slowly, trying not to spill the contents inside. It was heavy, although very small. I could feel its force on my arms "Hey Vaughn?" I called, my voice staying low. "Is this it?" I held the box up with both hands resting it on my shoulder so it wouldn't fall.

Vaughn looked at me, almost jumping up as soon as he caught wind of my words. He approached me, eyes never leaving the box. He took it then scanned the black item. "Yup" He propped it on his shoulders. "This is it"

I continued to stare at the box for a moment before turning around, and leaving. "Hey!" I heard a voice call from behind after I had taken a few steps. I slightly turned my head, looking at Vaughn as he pulled his hat over his head. "Thanks"

I only smiled before leaving Vaughn behind, and stalking off.

_Later_

_"_Yeah the crop festival" Julia exclaimed, eyes widening. "Aren't you participating?"

I sat there on the, overworked from the magnificant amount of jobs and errands. I started to trace back to the last time I had tried to enter a festival back home. It hadn't gone so well, as I was lectured in front of everyone about crops and how to raise them properly for about an hour. I sighed at the memory, only looking over towards Julia who was had gone back to her bubbly self.

I looked around staring at the Mirabelle's shop, and I felt myself yawn. "No Julia, I can't enter" I turned my head back to face her. "I don't have anything worth entering. Besides, the less crops I ship, the less money I'm going to make..."

Julia scowled at me, her eyes turning red. "C'mon Chelsea! Money doesn't make the world go around!"

I didn't sat anything, hoping that Julia would take the silence the right way. In an effort to make her think like me I stood up and approached the door. "But it pays for my expensies"

I heard her groan behind me. "You sound like Vaughn"

"Maybe" I opened the door. "Because we think alike" And then, I was gone.

Vaughn hadn't shown up yet since this mornings incident. Now that he was on the island almost every single day, he would dissapear quite often, and no one had any idea where he was. I reflected on the past season, and all the drama that had taken place. It wasn't annoying, just tiresome, and I knew it. I lowered my head to the ground, annoyed by the sun and its violent rays.

"Hey!" I heard a voice call out from far away. I looked over, seeing a purple banadna and a funny looking parrot. I reconized him as Denny, the guy who had been trying to help Vaughn earler. We had talked once or twice, but I felt like I had known him for a long.

"Hi" I replied, looking down to the ground again. It had become quite a habbit, but found myself doing it less frequent ever since Vaughn and I had started talking a little more.

Denny smiled at me. "How's the farm?"

I looked back at his face, and felt my nerves slowly die down. "Good. I'm hoping to get another upgrade soon"

"That's good. Hey.." Dennys smile faded, his cheeks turning a bright pink. "I was wondering if...well you know" He scratched his neck with his hand "Would you like to...go fishing with me, sometime?" He looked at me, and smiled. "It'll be fun!"

I fellt my cheeks burn up, and I looked to the floor letting my nerves get the better end fo me. "Yeah, sure"

"Great!" Denny patted me on the back. "I'll meet you tomorrow at the beach around noon"

He skipped away happily whistling and I slapped myself on the head. What had I just done?

**So this the beginning of a rivalry! Yeah! Anyway, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is, this is the end of chapter 9! YEAH! The bad news, well there's actually 2 pieces of bad news. #1 This is nowhere to being finished. #2 I'm going to stop writing this fanfiction and try one where Chelsea is how every else writes her (so happy, hyper, etc.) I might continue this story, but it depends on how many people want the rest. So, yeah, i'm going to try another fanfiction! So, look out for that one...**


	10. Smile

_**Authors Note**_

**Hey everyone! So I decided to keep writing! But if you do read my story, please review it so I know you've at least read it, and I feel like it sucks when I am unsure if people are or aren't reading it…Anyway, I was going to answer the question why is the heart scene appearing so late? WELL! I believe that that heart event had the right motive (gaining Vaughn's trust) but stuff must have happened between Vaughn and Chelsea before their heart events, because the heart events were too quick. THIS is why there have been so many chapters before the first heart event and appearance of the harvest goddess. Anyway, I'll be quiet now, and enjoy the next chapter!**

_**Chapter 10: Smile!**_

The time had slowly passed during the rest day, turning from day to night and back again. I knew it when the early birds in the morning chirped, and wet stuff was on my face. Diego, obviously dreaming about something very interesting, was drooling all over my neck and face. I jumped up off my bed, forcing him to open his eyes and whimper in complete terror. His black eyes were frightened, and pretty soon he had disappeared from on top of the bed, to underneath it. I laughed out loud while rubbing my neck.

Spring was almost over, while summer was only a day off. I checked my calendar, hoping I was right. I was. Summer was soon. I got changed quickly, making sure I wasn't too slow. Just as I adjusted my bandana on to my head, there was a knock at my door. I opened it to see Vaughn standing at my door, hat covering some of his face. He looked at me, still keeping his old frown and not smiling. "Hey" He said, pulling his hat down. "Ready for work"

I was shocked by his words, he had never reported to me before starting work. Normally he'd come and just…well do it. I sighed softly, hoping he hadn't heard it. I don't think he did. I answered him, only keeping my voice soft. "Hi" I didn't look to the ground, happy that for once my nerves didn't kick in. I was pretty sure I was starting to get over my nerves, and I was happy for once. But I guess my mind started to wonder, because the next thing I knew, Vaughn's hand was going up and down in front of my face, as if I was some zombie who had zoned out for a moment.

"Hello?" Vaughn said "Let's go! Wake up! There's work that has to be finished"

I shook my head, embarrassed by my sudden actions, and blushed slightly. Vaughn must have noticed, because he pulled his hat down over his head, obviously to hide something.

"Let's get to work" he mumbled, turning his back to me and heading towards the barn. I nodded, although he didn't notice, and followed hi,. We opened the barn door, glancing inside to see my animals; Bertha, Lydia, Lily, Cocoa and Chestnut. The five most adorable farm pets ever! As I started to brush Lily (and Vaughn milked the cows) I thought about my earlier discovery when I fell and hit my head. I wondered why Vaughn didn't tell me he helped me that day in the beach. Was he trying to keep his reputation? Was he concerned about his safety? Was it against the rules? I felt my hand put more pressure on the brush, and my head started to cloud up uncontrollably. I started feeling hot, and I stopped brushing to feel my forehead which determined the sudden heat up. I knew I was coming down with something, but I continued to brush softly, not saying a word to Vaughn so he wouldn't be burdened.

It took us most of the morning to get our work done, and by eleven o'clock, I was more tired than I had been in years. It was obvious that I was getting sick, but still I kept it to myself hoping that I could keep working. As we closed the barn doors, I suddenly remembered my date with Denny scheduled the day before. "Vaughn!" I felt myself get even weaker, but I tried to look strong. "I need to go early. I'm meeting a friend…"

"Which friend?" Vaughn asked as he stepped away from the closed barn doors.

I looked to the floor for some reason. I couldn't figure out why. Was I embarrassed? Angry? Confused?

"Uh…" I felt my speech go downhill a little for a moment, and I felt the heat of my forehead start to kick in. "A friend" I lied.

Vaughn looked at me for a second, and I could have sworn his expression softened a little bit but he just shook his head. Suddenly I felt myself hunch over slightly, knees hitting the ground. I felt my forehead only to discover it was burning now, not just slightly heated. I vaguely saw a shadow approach me and kneel. A hand went on my forehead as my eyes started to shut. I forced them to stay open

"Got a temperature" I heard the shadow say, who I could recognize as Vaughn.

I shook my head, forcing myself to stand up. "I'm fine" I closed my eyes for a brief second. "I need to go anyway"

Vaughn put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me. I halted for a moment to hear what he had to say. "You ain't going nowhere" He tried to step in front of me, but I pushed him aside. "I can do it" I said, eyes narrowing to the ground. "I'm not a helpless female"

Vaughn withdrew his hand from my shoulder as I marched towards town and away to my farm. I was going to do it, because I could do it.

Most of the date was spent on Denny's boat in the ocean. We had talked and fished like what friends would do. I fought the heat of my forehead the entire time, trying to act normal and healthy. It had worked because Denny hadn't noticed at all being too caught up in the fishing. But 2PM we had landed on the dock. "Won't you stay longer?" Denny asked with a smile "I mean it was fun, wasn't it?"

I weakly laughed. "No Denny. I have to go home and look after my animals" Of course it was only a half truth. I did need to go home, but not for my animals.

Denny shook his head in disappointment. "Alright" He turned around heading towards his house "See you later then"

I waved after him, not daring to make a sound. As soon as Denny closed the door to his home, I fell over due to exhaustion. I felt my head burning like an oven, and my body was taken over by weakness. After a couple minutes of lying on the beach I felt rain drops fall from the sky, and I could see rain from above. I pushed my body up from the sand and started to saunter home. But for some reason I didn't end up home, but Mirabelle's shop. I opened the door weakly, and bumped into Julia. She was dressed in a raincoat and rubber boats, the kind used when going into a storm. "Thank goodness" she exclaimed, pulling me inside. "I was so worried"

Mirabelle, who had been in the kitchen rushed out hearing Julia's voice. She wrapped a blanket around me, forcing me on to their couch. "Vaughn told us you had a fever, and then rushed off. We've been so worried"

I shook my head, wondering why he had done that. "Vaughn, did that?" I felt confused, annoyed, yet happy and joyful inside.

"I know" Julia said, taking a seat beside me "It's really weird. I mean, at first we didn't take him seriously because he's never concerned about anyone but himself. He gets edgy when the rain started a couple minutes ago, but before we could go out to search, you walked through the front door"

I laughed, although it sounded more like a cry. "I don't know how I ended up here…" I trailed off, feeling a sudden sleepiness fall over me. Julia took the hint and got off the couch. "Sleep here for now"

Mirabelle nodded in agreement. "We wouldn't want to send you off in that storm"

I didn't say anything. I took off my shoes, put my feet up, and fell asleep into a deep slumber.

It was late when I woke up. The storm was still there, only a lot more worse than before. I curled up in a ball, remembering my major fear of thunder and lightning. I saw a light coming from the kitchen, and I got up, and started to approach it. I peeked around the corner to see Vaughn in his pyjamas, with his hat still on. I felt myself giggle, which seemed to make him aware of my presence. He turned around, jumping in mid-air. "It's only me" I said, trying to hide my giggles.

He sighed. "Don't scare me like that" Vaughn closed the fridge, obviously a little annoyed.

I continued to try and hide my giggles, which I felt turn into laughter's. Vaughn looked at me, and I could tell that he was confused. I guess it was how suddenly cocked his head.

"What?" I asked, stopping myself from looking at the floor.

He shook his head, as if he was trying to stop himself from saying anything. "Why do you talk to me?"

I frowned. "All I say is, hello"

"Yeah but…" He paused for a moment. "No one even says hi to me. I mean, I use to only talk to my customers when it was necessary. I mean…" He pulled his hat down over his head obviously embarrassed. "…their life isn't any of my business"

I thought for a moment, wondering what I could tell him. The only advice I would give is to not be so serious, yet I was serious. I stood there for a moment, trying to find the perfect solution. "Well…" I started, still unsure of what I was going to say "You could…smile more?" I found myself to be smart. Smiling was something I had been trying to more often nowadays.

He frowned. "Smiling? What's the point of that?"

"People will find you less…" I felt embarrassed by saying the words that just started to spring out. "…stern"

Vaughn was still puzzled. His eyes had grown more annoyed with the idea. "You could at least try" I said, urging him.

He shook his head, and I noticed change in his expression. It looked like a twisted, or should I say, DIMENTED smile. I let out a laugh and Vaughn looked at me, with a different look. "What?" I asked rubbing my eyes.

"You just…laughed" He pointed at my face, which immediately went back to a neutral look. "So what, at least I smile" I crossed my arms. "Now c'mon. Smile!"

He let the incident slip, and tried again, only to fail. He tried over and over again, failing each time. By the end, I was laughing so hard, I was tearing up on the floor. I whipped my eyes, and looked at him. I saw a smile, a genuine smile and I wondered why he was actually smiling. But I let that idea slip. "Hey you're smiling" I pointed to his face like he had done to me before.

The smile faded, and his face grew stern. I decided that I had enough of his frown face. I felt my nerves fight against my body, but my body ignored them as I touched his face and forced his mouth into a smile. After immediately doing so, I felt myself go red and I backed up, embarrassed by my sudden movement. "Well uh…" I backed off "I guess you can keep practicing"

He nodded, still in a daze from my movements. Vaughn shook his head before grunting and moving back to the fridge. I sat myself on the couch, putting my head in my hands and I asked myself this question: What's happening to me?


	11. Nightmares Come to Haunt Her Life

_**Authors Note**_

**Anyway, things might be slow for a while because I'm currently in brainstorming mode right now. But I want to keep writing, so yeah…. **

**p.s I made an error sometime when numbering my chapters and this is actually supposed to be chapter 10…..**

_** Chapter 10: Nightmares Come To Haunt Her Life**_

It hadn't ever occurred to me that my dreams were finally starting to become a reality. That my fears were bursting out of the seams, and that my life was becoming complicated. I guess it finally occurred to me the next day as I walked back to my farm from Mirabelle's home. It was Wednesday, so today I would work entirely by myself and it would give me time to think. But my plans changed. Upon arriving at the farm, I noticed Taro standing at the entrance, hands on his hips. "CHELSEA!" He screamed. "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!"

I looked at him while crossing my arms and giving him a confused look. "Wha…?"

"Leaving your farm all night!" He copied me by crossing his arms, and closed his eyes in anger. "Not only that, but the wild animals got into your barn because the door was open"

As soon as I heard that, I dashed inside praying that my animals were left unharmed, but my worst nightmare came true when I saw all my animals lying on the floor, dead. Bertha, Lily, Lydia, Cocoa and…wait a minute. I looked around realizing that there were only four dead animals, and the fifth was gone. "I took her away" A voice from behind me said.

I turned to see taro standing in the door, with the same expression. "You're obviously unfit to take care of animals"

"But I didn't leave it open!" I exclaimed. "I wasn't the last one…" My words wandered off, and I finally realized something. I wasn't the one who closed up the day before. Determined, and quite angry, I ran out of the barn doors.

"Hey!" I heard Taro exclaim "I'm not done with you!" But I wasn't worried about that.

I burst through Mirabelle's shop, and I could feel my eyes change colours multiple times as I shouted. "Where's VAUGHN!"

Mirabelle looked at me, disturbed at my tone of voice. "He's in with the animals. But Chelsea, what…?"

I didn't stay for the rest of her sentence. I walked back towards the barn and threw the door open. Vaughn was in the back corner with a sheep on his lap. His hat wasn't on his head, it was beside him on the floor. But I didn't give a care at all. "Vaughn!" I stomped towards him, getting ready to slap his face.

He looked at me, confused like Mirabelle. "What the?"

"Did you close the barn door's before you left yesterday?"

"What, Chelsea I…."

I wasn't going to stand explanations. "Did you?"

"Yeah" He nodded his head. "Yeah I closed them"

I sighed in relief and felt some of the anger drain out of me, which was filed with sadness and fear. I kneeled to the floor, and started to cry. I wanted to drain all the negative emotions out, all of it. I didn't care that Vaughn was standing in front of me, I wouldn't of cared if an entire group of people were sitting in front of me. I felt Vaughn kneel down and touch my shoulder with his hand. "What happened Chels?"

"They' I struggled to say the words. "They're gone. The door was open all night and all the animals were killed" I started bawling my eyes out. "Taro took Chestnut. My first animal and the only memory of the others" I could feel Vaughns hand clench against my shoulder as I explained what had happened. He looked angry, and it was hard to tell if it was at Taro, or me. Either way he wasn't happy.

"I hate this" I ended as the tears continued to fall. "I hate this! I'm a horrible farmer! I can't do anything right!" I got up, still crying, and started towards the door. Vaughn stopped me. keeping his arm on my shoulder. "Stay here" He growled, before stomping out of the barn. I stood there for a moment in shock, wondering to do. I knew I couldn't stay there in the barn, not after what happened, but I couldn't leave. Going against my better judgement, I ran out of the barn, passing Vaughn as I left. I could hear him calling my name from a distance, but it didn't matter anymore, nothing matter anymore.

I arrived at the beach, the only place I could think without very much disturbance. Taro's words still echoed in my ear. _You're obviously unfit to take care of animals. __You're obviously unfit to take care of animals. __You're obviously unfit to take care of animals._I found myself seated on dock, dangling my feet in the water. My eyes were swollen from the tears, and my head started to spoin. I felt like I had just gotten off a ride at the Spring Fair. Maybe I was an unfit farmer. Maybe I couldn't do anything right. Maybe what Vaughn said to me when I first arrived was right, maybe because I'm a girl I can't do anything right. I put my head on my hands and started to sob while secretly hoping that no one would see me. I felt angry, depressed, annoyed and guilty. I shouldn't have run off like that. I shouldn't have gone with Denny. I shouldn't have run around in the rain while I was sick.

After minutes of crying and sobbing and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to go back to the Animal Shop to try and find Vaughn. AS I approached the store, I could see a crowd in the distance gathering. I became curious and started wandering towards the I got closer, I noticed a black cowboy hat and on the ground...was a small black kitten. "Vaughn" I said, pushing my way through the crowd. More details became noticeable, for example, the cat was on the ground, bleeding. I knelt down beside Vaughn, worried for the cat. "What happened?"

"Don't know" Vaughn answered softly, putting bandages on the cats leg. "I just found him here. Must of got attacked by a wild animal or something..."

I nodded, not saying a word while Vaughn worked. He had done something like this before when he was working with animals in the city. "I think I'm gonna take him to Mirabelle's..." He proceeded to try and carry the cat and first aid kit. I took the first aid kid from him, hoping to help. "I don't think taking both is a good idea"

He didn't say a word, only nodding his head and walking into the crowd. "Move out of my way" He yelled, pushing through the crowd. I followed him, having almost no luck. The crowd, although thinning out, was hard to push through. I could feel the bruises and cuts pile up all over my body as I tried to get through. Finally I did, but I regretted ever offering to help Vaughn as I was sore now, really sore.

I went into Mirabelle's, and saw Vaughn put the cat down. Her brown eyes were breathtaking, and I observed her as she hobbled around the shop. Vaughn looked at me, eyes widening.

"What!" I asked, setting the toolbox on the coffee table.

He pulled his hat down to cover his face. "Your arms..."

"Chelsea!" I heard someone exclaim from the back. "What happened?"

I looked beyond Vaughn to see Julia staring at my arms. She hurried towards me and grabbed them. "We need to get you cleaned up"

She pulled me toward kitchen with Vaughn trailing behind. His eyes didn't leave me, and I could feel them trace my arms and legs, which were both scratched from the crowd. Julia pushed me on to a chair and Vaughn sat beside me, still looking down at arms. By now, I was a little annoyed. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself"

"I can see that" Julia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and grabbing some bandages out of the pantry.

Vaughn didn't say a word, only murmuring something to himself.

"Hey Vaughn!" Julia exclaimed. "Why are you here?"

He glared at Julia, staying in his seat. I guess he felt guilty for letting me help him with his first aid kid.

Julia started bandanging me up, not saying a word while Vaughn was there. Suddenly, Mirabelle burst through the door, with someone following behind her. "Julia! Come quick! A friend dropped by for the week!"

Julia shot me an apologetic ook before darting out. The next thing I knew, i heard a scream come from next door. "MARY ELLEN!" i froze at the sound of her name.

Vaughn noticed, and looked at me. "What's wrong?" He put his hand on my shoulder, hsi favourite spot and before I could answer, I darted out the kitchen, only to have my worst nightmares appear. There in front of me, stood the girl who I had hoped to avoid after graduation. Mary Ellen.

**BAM! So I was going to introduce her later, but I thought that you know, since I have to move this story along, I would bring her in now. She is based off of a real person, with the same attitude. FAKE. So...anyway I hope you liked this chapter! It's sad I know... :( But stay tuned for the next chapter! Where things only get worse...**


	12. Her Heart Beats Fast

**Here we go the next chapter! I'm going to do interviews with the characters at the end of each chapter from now on! This will add something else for you to read and helps me exercise my knowledge of the Sunshine Island Characters!**

_**Her Heart Beats Fast**_

My mind screamed as I scanned Mary Ellen, the girl I hated most who stood right in front of me. I remembered her fake attitude, and her beatings back in elementary school. Just like then I could tell she was still a know it all, show it off person. She wore a lot of bling, on her ears, on her clothes; I could even distinguish some on her ankle.

My frown increased as I stood there, having a staring contest with her. I could see her fake smile, which broadened when she laid eyes on me. "Mary Ellen Light" I said under my breath, not trying to hide my disgust. "Did you come by yourself, or did you bring some minions with you?" By now I was muttering, and no one could hear me.

Mary Ellen looked at me, obviously not shocked that I was there. "Hello Chels" I could see her grip on her wallet tighten. "Has it really been that long?"

I mentally kicked myself, then slouched back into my nerves mode. Without answering any of Julia's confused looks, I pushed passed them and walked away, hoping that no one would follow me. Instead, I bumped into Sabrina as I left the shop. "Hey Sabrina" I chirped, after the door shut completely behind me. I could feel the frown still on my face as it was hard to get off.

"Heyy…" She looked over my shoulder, confused like Julia at why I was frowning.

I read her look and shook my head. "Don't ask"

I headed towards my farm and as I entered the land, a sudden wind brought back a flashback.

_Flashback_

_It had been a normal day at school. I guess, if you call getting your head dumped in a trash can normal. For me, that was normal. I remember always looking around after getting myself out, and realizing that everyone had run off. But this time, one of the last times this ever happened to me, Mary Ellen stayed while everyone else ran away. As soon as I got out of the trash can, I remember her grabbing on to my hair and yanking it. "Listen" She hissed, pulling harder on my hair. "Don't think that graduation will stop anything. When we're older, I'm going to hunt you down, and destroy your life. I'm going to ruin your family, your friends and take your special someone away. Then I'm going to destroy everything that's yours. You better remember this threat, because it's going to happen. It's going to happen"_

_Flashback end_

I felt my head sudden give off a sharp pain, and I crumpled to the ground, trying to ward off the pain. The memories of my past caused my injuries such as this at times, but this one was bad. I could feel the pain run through the rest of my body, and I screamed, and then started to whimper in pain. I remembered my first day, after I washed up on the beach. I remembered the figure that had saved me. I couldn't remember much at all, only that part and beyond, everything else was a blur.

I felt a shadow look over me, and then kneel down beside my crumpled body. I felt a hand go on my shoulder, and I opened my eyes to see the figure again. I knew it was Vaughn of course, because back when I had fallen while I was recovering from a sore back, Vaughn had indirectly revealed that he was the figure. Of course he didn't say anything, but I knew it was him. The pain started to go away minutes later, and I felt a hundred times better. I looked up at Vaughn who wasn't smiling. His face stayed stern and straight, as his eyes scanned me.

I tried to get up, only succeeding for a couple seconds before falling down again. My head was spinning uncontrollably.

Funny thing is, one minute I'm on the ground and the next Vaughn is carrying me bridal style into my house. I could feel my heart start to beat faster and faster, like a burst of wind had just entered my body. I shook my head, trying to concentrate on my problems, but my heart just wouldn't let me. It was beating too fast! No! This wasn't suppose to happen! I hate Vaughn! Wait...do I? I couldn't tell anymore. Everytime i saw him, I would feel dizzy or light headed. My heart would skip a beat or two, and sometimes I would feel sick. Could I be...no! It's impossible, I've hated him all along, I can't start liking him now!.

By the time I started to refocus on my surroundings, I was inside my house seated on a stool. Vaughn had dissapeared for a minute, returning with and icepack. He gave it to me but I didn't flinch, my mind had gone back to Mary Ellen and her arrival that morning. He stood there for a moment, his face turning redder every second. Vaughn finally placed the icepack on my forehead, his hands started to shake. The cold feeling of the pack snapped me out of my daze and I jumped back screaming. "Wow" Vaughn exclaimed. "It's okay""

I shook my head and tried to get everything in order. Suddenly I remebered the time, place. "Yeah..." I took the ice pack from the floor, shoving it on my forehead. There was an awkward silence between us, and I felt like I was back to my old personality. Quiet. Depressed. Always Angry. The emotions that took over after the death of my animals grew back over me, and a thought from before re-occured. "Someone left the door opeb on purpose" I murmured loud enough for Vaughn to hear.

His eyes widened, shocked by my sudden words. "What! That's impossible! The wind might of just opened it or something" Vaughn looked at me.

"There was no wind yesterday" I pointed out. At times Vaughn could be very un-observant. "Besides it isn't impossible"

"It is!" He argued "There is no one on this island who would do such a thing"

I scowled at him as someone did come to mind. "There is one person..." I trailed off, hoping he didn't ask who or know who I was talking about, but apprently he did.

"Mary Ellen couldn't of" Vaughn stood up, clentching his fists. "She wasn't even on the island. She isn't even that type of person"

I became angry. It was obvious he was basing his ideas on first impressions. "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW! YOU'VE NEVER EVEN MET THE GIRL!"

"NEITHER HAVE YOU!"

"HOW WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW ME!" I was yelling, angry at Vaughn. "You have to trust me on this! I just know!"

"Trust you" He pulled his hat over his head. "I don't trust people who kill their animals"

I stared at him, and my anger turned to pain. He knew that I didn't kill them, yet he was still implying it. Vaughn saw my face fall, and immediatly, he tried to apologize. "Look, I'm so..."

"Shut up" I interrupted. "I hate you! GET OUT!"

"But.."

"GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF HERE" The tears started to fall down my face, and I could feel the pain start to sting my heart. This had to be the worst day ever.

It was around 12 o'clock the next when I finally left my bedroom. My eyes were swollen from crying, and my stomach had started to rumble. Unfortunatly, there was no food in the fridge, so I would have to use what money I had to buy some food at the diner. I left my house and started to walk towards the diner when someone from behind grabbed my wrist. I turned to see Julia, anxious. "What's wrong with Vaughn!"

I nodded my head. "It isn't any of your business..."

"Yes it is. He's my cousin"

"Fine. Don't get mad at me though" I pulled me wrist away from her hand. "We had a fight"

"I could see that" She crossed her arms. "About what though?"

I sighed. Because I knew this was going to turn into a fight. "Mary Ellen. That girl from yesterday"

"Okay" Julia shook her head. "So why were you fighting over a girl...you met yesterday exactly?"

"Because" I turned around. "She's trouble. With a capital T. But did he want to believe me no..."

"Wait" Julia stuck her hand up in the air. "She isn't trouble'

"Yes she is"

"No she isn't"

I crossed my arms. "Julia, she is T-r-o-u-b-l-e"

"How would you know?" She stepped closer to me. "You've never met the girl before in your life! She's nice, polite and..."

"...fake" I added at the end.

She looked at, horrified by the word I added. "IDIOT! She screamed. "You don't know anything"

That did it. Although i might not know anythign about Julia, I certainly knew something about this new girl. "YOU'RE ONE TO TALK!" For some reason, I was having major mood swings, which incoluded constant yelling matches. "YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME! YOU DON'T EVEN BOTHER TO ASK! YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT MY PAST! MAYBE I DID MEET HER BEFORE! BUT YOU DON'T EVEN CONSIDER THAT!" I was breathing a fast rate by now and I calmed myself down. Julia was almost in tears. "You don't know anything" I turned around and left her looking at me speechless. It was the first time I had ever yelled at her before.

But the worst came when I walked through the diner doors. There, sitting in the corner booth was Mary Ellen, and Vaughn.

**OH! that's not a good thing at all! Anyway, interviews will start now! This will be random! **

**Vicky - Welcome to...The Classic Interviews (I know, horrible name). Lets welcome...Alisa! A soon to be added character in the story. Alisa, come on out.**

**(...) *cricket cricket cricket"**

**Vicky - excuse me for a second ladies and gentlement. *walks over to backstage and grabs Alisa by the ear, then drags her across the floor. Forces her into her seat* There we go! So Alisa, how do you like the story so far?**

**Alisa - ...The harvest goddess wouldn't be pleased.**

**Vicky - ?Why?**

**Alisa - Because we haven't put her in the story enough...and Chelsea hasn't really saved much of the land yet!**

**Vicky - That comes later in the story!**

**Alisa - She still wouldn't be pleased!**

**Vicky - ... Whatever ... Anyway, we're going the next...**

**Alisa - WAIT!**

**Vicky - What is it now?**

**Alisa - Can I ask a question?**

**Victoria - Fine...but one question**

**Alisa - YEAH! So, why haven't I been added yet? You said in your authors note that you were going to add me...as chelsea's best friend!**

**Vicky - ...because you're not needed yet! But it's true, you become Chelsea's best friend! Like in most stories, how Julia is best friends with Chelsea, that'll be your reltionship!**

**Alisa - Really?**

**Vicky - Yup. Now can we please get to the next chapter? I have to write it...**

**Alisa - Sure! I hope you ebat Mary Ellen up eventually!**

**Vicky - I will! Don't worry. Considering she's based a really live bully I have to go through everyday, I'll do more to he *evil glare***

**Alisa - SCARY! *runs away crying***

**Vicky - Oops...Anyway, on to the next chapter! I will post it as soon as possible! It's mostly written already though :) Expect a quick update! :)**


	13. Trust Is Everything

_**Trust Is Everything**_

"Hi Sabrina" I said, as I left the diner. "Can I talk to you..." Sabrina was my best friend. My only best friend.

She nodded her head and we headed towards a cliff near the beach. We sat down, dangling out feet over the edge and I could feel a negative emotion swoop over me. "I don't get it...Vaughn doesn't trust me, then he goes and..." I slapped myself.

Sabrina kept quiet and it was a long time before she said anything. "You know I use to...have a thing for Vaughn"

"Really!" I looked at her intensly.

"Years ago" Sabrina began. "I had a crush on Vaughn. When I was young, we had met while playing in the sandbox. He was friendly back then; nothing I guess altered his opinion on people and the world around us. But, I met him years later in high school, about our last year, and something had changed in him. He wouldn't smile, he wouldn't laugh, and he wouldn't show emotion. I didn't understand so naturally I went up and introduced myself like I did in the sandbox years before. He was happy to see me, but one day, I got bossy. He got mad at me for demanding a smile from him so he pushed me, and I ended up in the hospital for a week" She paused for a moment, waiting for an appropriate time to continue. "My crush ended, and I never pressed any sort of charges, although I don't remember if they were necessary. But for some reason, between the years I met him and the years I finally knew him, he changed"

She sighed. "I guess everyone changes. And a lot of times, it's in the worst way possible"

I had listened, and fallen into shock. Vaughn did this? Was he some sort of maniac? Or crazy lunatic? I shook my head, wondering what to say next.

"He always.." Sabrina continued "Still considered me a friend, but nothing more. I liked that, and after he" forgave me" he started bottling himself up, and eventually, when we talked, all he'd complain about was you"

I looked at Sabrina, confused by her words. "Me?"

"Yeah" She lifted her head to the sky "About how you were so negative and had no reason for it"

I laughed "Ha! Yeah right. Then he doesn't know anything about me" I thought for a moment, asking myself if this was a good time to share some of my pain, because I hadn't shared it with anyone ever before. I decided it was the right moment and began my story. "I was only four, when my dad died. We had a perfect family life; my parents got along and never fought, I had a little brother, and things were as anyone would expect in a family. But after he died, things got bad. My mom went into a state of shock" I looked off the cliff, watching my feet dangle. "And she sent me away to school. It was a private school for girls and, from the time I was there until I graduated, I was beat, teased, bullied, you name it, they did it. Dumping water on my head? Yup. Throwing me in garbage? Yup. Pushing me under water for long periods of time? Yup. I graduated with a ton of bruises and sores, and I told myself I wouldn't go through that again" I smiled, and decided to leave the story at that. "He thinks that pain, and personalities are natural but…" I closed my eyes, shaking my head. "They can be altered by the slightest thing, or event, in a lifetime " I looked at Sabrina, who glanced at me in pure shock. "There is always a reason for a negative attitude"

She patted me on the back. "I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be" I looked up to the sky. "I don't need people's pity, just a shoulder to lean on. I came here, hoping to find friends, a good life, someone to love but it seems…My path has come to a dead end"

Sabrina held a long period of silence. I knew she was going say something about Vaughn, because no one knew why we were mad at each other, and no one knew about that girl who bullied all those years ago and that she was in this town at this moment in the diner with Vaughn, where I should have been. He had changed me so suddenly. One day I was a shy and quiet girl with no positive traits, only negative ones like a quick temper and a harsh tongue. Yet during the next moments, I was a girl who didn't fear other people like I had in the past. Who didn't hate everybody, and didn't judge before I met them. I was a good girl, someone to rely on, and someone to be relied on. But now Vaughn's throwing it away, because he wants to be with the fake girl Mary Ellen and not me. It was obvious by now how I felt, and I knew he felt the same, yet this girl came in and altered everything. She had ruined my life before and was doing it again. "I'm afraid" I said pausing the silence "If that girl does not leave, I will"

Sabrina, obviously lost, looked at me as if I was crazy. "What does she have to do anything?"

"I think I'd recognize the bully if I saw her" I took a sideways glance at Sabrina, who was now, definitely shocked.

"You mean she…?"

I nodded my head "Yeah. That's her. She's got a really fake personality, a temper that worse than mine and can lead anyone by the nose. Even Vaughn" I didn't say anything else on the matter, I was scared to. She could kill me if I revealed anything else, and to be honest leaving would be the quietest thing I could do. "I tried to warn Vaughn, but he wouldn't believe me…" I looked off the edge, tears were starting to gather up in my eyes. "And now he's mad, and everything's ruined. I just want to die!" I started to cry. "He doesn't understand, he doesn't get it! I wouldn't lie about anything! I wouldn't lie about my experiences and my life, or anything else! Why doesn't he believe me? OH why?" The tears were falling like hail in a storm. I was sad. Angry. Confused. Depressed. I didn't understand why anyone would cause someone else pain on purpose. I really didn't! "No one understands..." I murmured, before getting up and running off.

"Chelsea!" Sabrina exclaimed, getting up. But she didn't follow me; no one would dare follow me. I was going to leave. After thinking, I was going to leave.

I had been wandering for hours on The Harvest Goddesses Island. The thick forest surrounding it was tremendous, as I had no time to even explore it before now. I would actually hardly call this exploring, more like "suffering in grief due to major loss". My stomach started to rumble and my head was now aching. I felt as if I could die, and to be honest, I really wanted to. I didn't dare check my watch, because I didn't want to know the time. I didn't want to know where I was. I didn't want to know what I was doing. I didn't want to know anything. I couldn't even remember my name. I finally sink myself down at the root of the tree, looking into the distant sky which was now turning black. I didn't care about anything, and for once, nothing mattered. I wanted to be loved, I wanted someone ho wouldn't leave me, and I had counted on Vaughn, but he ended up being a big disappointment.

I don't know how, but in some way, I fell asleep because the thing is I woke up to voices calling my name. I thought they were ghosts at first, coming to terrify me, by I eventually saw lights which I assumed came from flashlights. I then heard familiar voices. Julia. Sabrina. Mirabelle and…Vaughn. I shook my head as I tried to confirm those voices; especially Vaughn's and I found myself not to be dreaming.

I didn't hear Mary Ellen, and I sighed in relief. The voices got close enough for me to see them, and the first person was Vaughn. He was the first to look at me, and he rushed over to me, kneeling down at my feet. I could feel his stare, not cold, but gentle, yet I didn't care. I didn't want to face him. I keep my face to the ground, still in the daze I had been wandering around with. I feel Vaughn shake his head as he grabbed me, lifting me up on his shoulders. The others must have gone ahead, because the light was almost gone. I felt Vaughn halt for a moment, obviously confused on the direction to go.

I took this opportunity to leap from his arms and sit under the nearest tree. I was glad he had come to rescue me, but at the time, I wasn't in the best mood. Vaughn looked back at me, as I put my arms around me knees and sat there. He didn't say a word obviously knowing why I was upset. "Look" He finally said, looking to the ground. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I didn't know…" Vaughn paused for a moment, and I could hear the desperation in his voice.

"I don't care" I murmured, allowing my shy personality to shine through. "I told you I wasn't lying. I told you I would know, but you believed her word over mine" I shook my head. "And I don't think anything will change my opinion"

He shook his head "But I didn't know!"

"That doesn't matter! The fact that you didn't trust me is all that matter!" I stood up, trying to hide my tears. "You need to trust me, and until then I don't want to talk to you" I turned and ran off, hoping that I would lose him and find the others. But I didn't, in fact, the next thing I knew, i was falling down a cliff and my world suddenly blacked out..

**Interviews are every other chapter! :( Anyway, I was tired when I wrote the beginning and end, so it sucks pretty bad :( Hope you enjoyed it!**


	14. If I Dissapeared

_**If I Disappeared**_

You know when you have that time to yourself, when you think about the things that have been going on in your life? For some reason after I blacked out, that was my moment. I couldn't deal with Mary Ellen again. It wasn't something I could physically, emotionally and mentally handle. I had been through it once, and left with a scar. If I did stay, Vaughn and all my friends would certainly pay the price. They would all suffer like I had, but worse. Although this was only a short time to think I decided to leave Sunshine Islands in order to avoid this, but of course that wouldn't be for some time. If I disappeared, things would return to how they were. That's what I had to do, dissapear from the face of the earth. No one would miss me, not one soul. That's why I decided, to leave and never come back. If I did, things would return to normal. It was a choice I had to make.

**Hey guys. Just to clear up some confusion, at the beginning of the last chapter, as soon as Chelsea saw Mary Ellen, she turned around and left which led to the conversation with Sabrina. Anyway, the next couple chapters are going to lead up to us meeting Chelsea's future best friend Alisa. Because….well, you'll have to read to find out how this happens :) You're probably asking "Why In the World is this chapter SOOO short!" Because...**

**#1 I got over my writers block :D**

**#2 I DID IT ON PURPOSE! This is to leave you hanging! HA! Cliffhangers :P As you all know, I love cliffhangers -.- I'm working on the next chapter! As well as trying to get some ideas for my oneshots because now, I have a mind block on those... :( Enjoy the next chapter when it comes out! *runs off before anyone can attack due to short chapter***


	15. Sabrina

**_Chapter 16_**

When you make a wish upon a star, or blow the candles out on your birthday after asking for something from your heart, you'd never guessed that it would actually happen. Over the last little while, since I had first arrived, somehow trouble was always finding me, leaving me with some sort of physical handicap or something. I couldn't explain it, maybe the Harvest Godess was mad at me for not going along with her save the island plan right away.

Too much drama had happened all at once, right now my mind was everywhere. But mostly I was focusing, or dreaming about my escape plan. I didn't know exactly where I was, or if I was even dead. Maybe the plan wasn't needed, and I had already escaped from reality. But no sooner did I think those idea's, my mind started to become more concious, and my eyes fluttered open. I was laying down on my bed, not the usual, because most days I was in Mirabelle's house on her couch, but this time I was in my own home. People were looking over me, actually, Sabrina was the only person.

"Chelsea?" She didn't stutter, that had become something that didn't happen as often anymore. People usually stutter when they're nervous, but Sabrina wasn't very nervous anymore. Sabrina didn't shake, or look to the ground, or anything like that when talking to me, but she still remained kind. "Are you feeling better?"

I looked arond my house, there wasn't a single soul in sight. Just Sabrina, I could trust her, and though I had just woken up from whatever I was doing that pushed me to be unconcious, no matter how much anyone would have talked to me or even tried to make sleep, the plan would still be on my mind. Slowly, I pushed myself up on my bed, sighing. "What happened?"

Sabrina shook her head. "You fell off a cliff."

"EH?" I started to panic.

She put her hands on my shoulders. "It wasn't big! It was really small, the only damage is your broken leg." Indeed she was right, when I moved everything but my leg I felt fine. "Vaughn and the others brought you back...and then they just left..."

"Was Mary Ellen with them?" She was on my mind.

She shook her head. "Not at first. As Vaughn ran through town, he passed her...I was right behind him. She tried to get information for me on what had happened, but I didn't say anything..."

"That's good..."

"But she followed us..." I gasped, that meant trouble with a capital T. "And when she found out, she convinced Julia, Mirabelle and Vaughn to go home..."

I shook my head. "This is the worst. First she ruins my farm, takes away my friends...and now this..."

Diego jumped up on to my bed, rubbing his head against my shoulders as I leaned back against my bed. I was slightly dizzy. "How long have I been out?"

"A couple hours."

A definite miracle, the Harvest Goddess had definately spared me...but even with this I wasn't going to continue. "Sabrina..."

She smiled. "Hm?"

"Can you help me with something?"

Sabrina nodded her head. "Anything..." She would probably regret saying that.

My bandanna was on the sidetable, my hair was falling over my face...she was the only reason I had to stay my only gentle friend, I had to say good bye. "Can you make me dissapear?"

She titled her head. "Dissapear?"

"I want to leave."

Her eyes widened. "Leave? You mean, never come back?"

Slowly I nodded my head. "I know it seems like the cowards way out, but I can't do this..." I tightened my fists together, gasping for breathe as the tears started to fall down my face. "She'll hurt everything and everyone...she won't stop until..." I wiped my arms over my eyes, taking a deep breath. "I've thought about this, it's the only way..."

"No." Sabrina shook her head. "It's not the only way, you can prove yourself..."

"He won't listen."

She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Yes, he will."

"No." I tried to push the covers off of my body. "He won't listen. Sabrina, you didn't see him when I argued with him..."

"And you didn't see him when he was running through town trying to find help..." I knew Sabrina wouldn't help me when those words came out of her mouth...which meant I was on my own. Giving up on convincing her, I didn't say another word and we fell into silence. "He was worried..." Sabrina finally broke the silence. "He really was." But when I didn't say anything, she just sighed. "I'll leave you then." Sabrina got up from her spot and headed to the door. She took one more glance before sighing and shutting the door behind her.

At the sound of her exiting footsteps, I tried to get out of my bed as quickly as possible.

And minutes later I was out the door, hopping quickly towards the docks...nothing would stop me.

**Authors Note: Sorry it's so short :)**


	16. Meeting Alisa

_**Chapter 17**_

As the island, the only real home I have had since the beginning of my days on earth, drifted off into the distance, my facial expression stayed neutral and didn't change no matter how loud my heart cried out for the tears to start. By now, I felt so betrayed, the amount of trust between everyone I had once loved and cherished, was almost into a negatives. The only person who had stayed loyal to the end was Sabrina. Maybe it was because we were the same, ones of the quiet and shy category with only a little to say. Yet I was also like Julia in some ways, loud and annoying, but of all people, i was most similar to Vaughn. Our tempers often intertwined, and got us into spasms and anger issues with each other, but in the end our relationship just got much closer to one another. When he had spoken those words, angrily acussing me of killing my animals, I was devastated and upset.

Deep down I knew I'd miss everyone, from Sabrina to Julia...and yes, Vaughn. Speakin of Vaughn...I couldn't tell one hundred percent but as I turned around to go back inside the boat, I could've sworn I heard someone calling my name. His voice was smooth, not low or too high, and it sounded almost exactly like Vaughn. After a couple moments, I shrugged my shoulders. But still, Vaughn was inside my mind. And I couldn't explain why...

We had been through so much together, many times I had fallen down physically in need of some assistance, and with the help of Vaughn and his family, I had survived. But now I didn't have a clue how I would survive. Without Vaughn, I felt slightly empty inside, everything I had wanted and needed was going to dissapear. But why, why did I feel this way? As I sat there, inside the cabin on top of a bench poundering at these words, a small voice arose over my thoughts. "Excuse me?" I looked up. A girl with redish orange hair was standing in front of me, wearing a robe like dress with a smile on her face. "Hello. I'm Alisa."

I tilted my head to the side. "H-hello..." My feelings started to dye, and I myself could feel the nerves begint to take over my body. It was like I was back to my old self, and no changes had occured at all.

"What's your name?" This girl was way too nice. I had learned a thing or two over the last little while about girls who were too nice, but still, I couldn't be rude and not say anything. "C-chelsea. My n-name is Chelsssseea." I looked down towards the ground.

Alisa smiled at me. "I'm Alisa."

It was quiet for a little while before any words were exchanged between the two of us. "So Alli-isa, where are y-you going?" She smiled again, taking a seat beside and looking out the window. "I'm going to Forget-Me-Not Valley."

"F-Forget-Me-Not Valley?" I had a cousin, Jill, who lived in Forget-Me-Not valley with her brother.

She nodded her head. "My boss and I are going for a few days." Alisa sighed. "We haven't found a good home in awhile. We've been looking for a place to settle, but no island is accepting a new church because none is needed."

That's when I thought of Sunshine Islands, we...actually they, had no church just yet and it hadn't been long since I had raised the island with the Harves Godess. "Did you consider...S-sunshine Islands?" I was happy that I wasn't stuttering as much anymore.

"Sunshine Islands?" Alisa tilted her head slightly to the side.

I nodded my head. "The island...we just left." A smile crept on to my face. "You'd like it there. There's a lot of open space, and beautiful scenery."

Alisa seemed to go into thought for a couple minutes, but instead of shaking her head, her smile grew wider. "Sure. I'll think about it."

_**A/N: **Hey guys! So sorry I haven't been updating lately. I got obsessed with T.V, but I'm out of that and back to Harvest Moon, so that should mean more updates! I'm thinking of starting a new story after this, I may not allow this story to go past 30 chapters, then make the next one a lot longer! I hope this works for you! Anyway enjoy this chapter!. So..it's short, because i have no idea's for this story anymore :( I'm sorry . Anyway, please try my other story, one that I've added with another unique idea. It's called What He Doesn't Know or something like that...I appreciate your reviews! :)_


	17. It's Official

**Authors Notes**

Hey everyone...so I'm not dead! I've been inactive on for a long time. I'm now officially finished my first year of University and have been relaxing since the end of April. Originally I had given up on this story because...well i'll be honest...I felt like it was crap. I felt like my characters were too similar, my plot was not planned so I felt like it was not paced properly, etc. So, I was NOT confident about this story at all. One evening I was looking up Cassandra Claire's fanfiction that she wrote before becoming a worldwide best seller and remembered this story. I read all the reviews noting that almost all were extremely positive...and honestly I sat there and went "What the heck?" because I thought my story was completely horrible. I reread the story and though I read of area's that needed improvement...I couldn't really understand how I came up with it. So I had a decision to make...should I continue? Or should I write that horrid authors comment everyone dreads stating I am NOT continuing. The more I read the story and thought about how I want to one day write a novel, the more I thought about perseverance. Its a word most well known authors know; because what seperates a "wanna be author" from a "author" is their ability to continue on with a story. So, I therefore concluded that I couldn't give up. I will use THIS fanfiction and my Hardy Boys fanfiction (just created it, check it out! :D) to improve my writing skills. Furthermore, though I would like some encouragement I would also like you, my readers, to give advice on improvement area's. I ask for you to not be rude, you can be blunt (there's a difference) but I do need a balance of encouragement AND blunt comments.

So on that note; I seem to have three or four plotlines going here...please wish me luck as I try to recall where I was going with them O.O LOLLL! XD I do implore you to check out my other Hardy Boys fanfiction...also, I will update but I am currently, but slowly, writing a novel that I hope to send to a publisher within the next couple of years so updates won't be as often :( They will be less frequent when I go back to school in the fall...I work REALLY hard and sometimes forget about my stories or other things.

**It's official...**

It had been three weeks since I had left Sunshine Islands, bound for another new start and experiences. Alisa had kindly offered to allow me to stay with her until she and the pastor had made a decision as to whether they would go to Sunshine Islands or Forget-Me-Not Valley. At first, Alisa and the pastor were heading in that direction but when he heard about Sunshine Islands, he thought that maybe it would be better if he thought about it for a while. I didn't answer many of her questions about my old home, but rather tried to stay positive. Not everyone will love Sunshine Islands, but not everyone will hate it.

On this one particular occasion; we had been sitting in the living downstairs in Alisa's townhouse drinking tea and eating biscuits. Alisa didn't ask me about why I was on that boat or anything about my background or what people called "their story" and I liked it that way. I didn't want to feel pressured to tell her my story because in all honesty, I may never tell anyone. A lot had happened in these past seasons. I thought Julia was my friend, someone I trusted. At that time I was sure that opposites attracted friendship wise, but I found a friend in Sabrina. We were so alike; both of us were normally the "bad guys" because our shy personalities hid our "true colors." That's what the books say at least, but we weren't like that at all! In fact we were victims of the criminal acts...not the suspects!

Sabrina was probably the only reason I wanted to stay on Sunshine Islands. At least that's what I thought; because deep down I thought of one other person...Vaughn. We hadn't gone through a ton together, but enough for me to know that we started to warm up to one another. If it weren't for my trust issues, maybe things would have worked out better. But he didn't trust me...he wasn't there when I needed him most. He ACCUSED me of being responsible for killing my animals when I know that I DID close that door. When I knew that Mary Ellen was somehow responsible for that incident She was probably cozing up to Vaughn right now.

It seemed cowardly of me to run away from that, but what was I suppose to do? Just sit there and let her hit me like that? I couldn't do anything else, everyone would take her side...they really would...

Alisa placed her tea cup down on its saucer and smiled at me, "How are you enjoying this part of the city?" I had never been to this part of the city before, I was only use to where Elli and the doctor lived, but unlike popular belief there were other parts to the city they lived in.

I nodded my head. "It's pretty good. Much busier than the country, but I could get use to this."

That was very true. I had never really loved the city, maybe because all of the horrible memories I had took place in Mineral Town where I grew up. I have had a tendency to allow all the negative things and negative experiences to affect my opinions on different places or different people. This was just a fact. But this part of the city had no new memories for me, in fact it had none.

There was a moment of silence. "Have you ever thought of joining the church, Chelsea?"

"Hm?"

"The pastor," Alisa pointed to a painting of a fatter man with brown hair and small eyes, "he says the Harvest Goddess has been speaking to him. She's been hinting that the "newcomer" will save many lives and bring good fortune to the church." She smiled at the painting, "He doesn't know where she'll lead him, but he feels she wants you to join us."

I was stunned. The Harvest Goddess...knew this was going to happen. She knew I would end up in this mess, and she knew all this junk would happen...that all these emotions would overwhelm me. I didn't respond at first, but rather continued to look at the picture of the pastor. He looked like a wise man; one of great wisdom and great knowledge. "Well...I don't know..."

"Think about it for a while. It's okay if you refuse, but think about all the lives you would be saving if you were to accept."

At that moment, the sounds of bells echoed throughout the house and Alisa smiled warmly, "that's probably the pastor. I'll take the call outside." She got up from her seat and disappeared out the front door.

This left me to think. I wanted to accept this job, but I couldn't go back to Sunshine Islands. If the pastor and Alisa were to go to Sunshine Islands, then I would have to go with them if i had accepted the job. I would have to face all those problems; proving my innocence, building up my trust issues, facing an old enemy, facing people I had hurt, and even more. I had let them down and proved that Vaughn had been right. Not only was I unfit farmer, but an unfit person overall. My personality was horrid, I was nothing but dirt and garbage.

For minutes I sat there, thinking to myself and slowly I started to lose consciousness. Suddenly I heard a noise, a females voice calling out to me. Slowly a figure appeared before me. Her green hair and beautiful dress along with her beautiful eyes and pale skin gave me the direct hint that it was the Harvest Goddess. She smiled warmly, "Chelsea..."

"What are you doing here?" I asked, glancing down towards the darkness. "My life is ruined, my arch enemy has made me look like a criminal AND my friends have all turned against me."

The Harvest Goddess shook her, "In order for you to learn, all that had to happen."

"Learn!? I could learn easier with a bull sitting on top of me! Do you know how hard it was standing in the PRESENCE of that little demon?"

There was silence, the Harvest Goddess sighed, "Chelsea...we do not change by just reading textbooks. You change by going through hardships and facing your fears. It was an appropriate time for you to face that specific problem."

I frowned, "So...my personality is horrible?"

"No!" The Harvest Goddess shook her head, "but everyone has things the need to improve on. No one will ever be perfect. If you are to save the island, you must build up confidence and stand up for yourself!"

So this lady is now an advice columnist!? "But I was standing up for myself!"

She nodded slowly, "but not in a way that avoided you hurting others and hurting yourself."

Why...why me? Of all people... "Why?"

"You mean," The Harvest Goddess brought out her mirror like last time, "why did I chose you?"

I nodded. At once, a heart appeared on the screen. It was all red, the perfect looking heart. I had never seen a heart before, but it was the finest looking heart and I knew I would never see another one like it. "That's...a heart?"

"Exactly," another heart appeared on the screen. It was all black, hardened and rough, "this is Mary Ellen's heart."

"That's one black heart, how could anyone survive with it?"

The Harvest Goddess laughed, "that's not her physical heart Chelsea. That's her other heart."

"Other heart?"

"Everyone has two hearts. The physical heart that keeps you alive, and the invisible heart that determines your ability to lead and show various characteristics." She pointed to both hearts, the perfect heart was on the left side of the screen and the red heart was on the other side. "This red heart is yours."

I shook my head, "How is that mine? I am not without fear. I'm sensitive, shy, quiet and I have no backbone. I have trust issues-"

She smiled, "because there will be a day when you overcome all that. There will be day when every potential you have will arise, when you will be the leader everyone needs!" The Harvest Goddess sighed, "you are only human, Chelsea. You are not a superhuman, you need to build yourself up! A soldier doesn't just walk on to a battlefield with nothing on. He prepares physically and mentally. He puts on gear before going into a battle. A suit to protect himself from the enemy, and a gun to fire."

For a moment I thought about that illustration. Armour...somehow I would need to build myself up mentally to take on future problems, and The Harvest Goddess was saying that in order to get this armor. I needed to face these situations. But at the same time I needed a weapon, I needed to gain the ability to stand up for myself and prove appropriately that, even if everyone is against me, I am indeed right. That I know what i'm talking about.

The Harvest Goddess smiled, "to finish with a quote 'You choose a leader for his/her heart' (Eragon)."

"Alright...so what do I do?" I wasn't going to decide just yet, but I wanted to know in case I did decide to try again. I was still annoyed, angry and upset about what happened.

She pointed to the screen, "I will only reveal what I can. You need to go back to the island, "defeat" Mary Ellen, and continue on with your farming."

"But...how do I do that?"

"I can't tell you Chelsea, that's for you to decide," the mirror vanished, "but I will tell you that the solution is right under your nose." It took me a couple seconds before I remembered what Alisa had said earlier. About the pastor she worked for...that he wanted to give me a job. I looked over towards the Harvest Goddess, she was fading away. "Just remember what I've said."

"Wait!" I exclaimed, "when will you speak to me again?"

She smiled one last time, "only time will tell." And then she completely vanished.

The darkness around me lightened up until I could see the light again, the internal contents of the house became visible. Alisa opened the door, finishing up some sentence she had been speaking and shutting the phone. It felt like I had been out for hours, maybe even days. "Alisa?"

Alisa looked over at me, "Yes?"

"How long were you outside?"

"A couple minutes."

I frowned...I had only been out a couple minutes? "I think I may take you up on that job offer..."

She smiled, "I'll take you to meet the pastor then?"

I nodded, "Sounds good to me."

It was official; I had no idea what would happen in the next few months.


	18. The Right Thing

**Authors Note**

I'm on a roll so I decided to just post the next chapter while the ideas were fresh in my mind. This is giving me a break from the novel I'm working on; plus though I want to put Chelsea back on the island, I wanted to add at least one more chapter of inspiration and someone giving her wise advice. I'm happy all of you are enjoying this story! :) Question: Have I introduced the sprites yet?

This chapter was a total of 3,717 words O.O Much longer than I thought it would! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Stay tuned for the new chapter XD I'm going to bed now...LOL XD

**The Right Thing**

We drove downtown; the streets were full of yellow cars with white signs on top of them. Each seemed to say the same thing, "Taxi." Alisa owned a car, so we were able to avoid paying the big bucks. People seemed in a hurry, running across the street when the walk sign hadn't been posted yet, or running down the sidewalks and pushing people on the way.

Alisa hadn't said too much on the ride to the church, only that the pastor was notified and would be waiting for us to arrive. So when we arrived at the church, I wasn't surprised to see a chubby man with a light blue outfit standing outside. He waved as Alisa pulled the car into the small parking lot and got out. The man looked like the one in the picture, just a lot shorter than I imagined.

"Alisa," the pastor hugged the girl. "it's good to see you. I trust the ride up was good."

The girl nodded, "Yes, father"_ (sidenote: He isn't her father, sometimes people will refer to a pastor or priest as "father")_

The Pastor smiled. I stepped out of the vehicle, and quickly shut the door behind me. At that moment all eyes went on me, and I could feel the nerves start back up. Alisa gestured for me to come over and I obeyed, but took slow steps. When I reached them the pastor smiled, "Hello, Chelsea."

I frowned, "H-hello father."

"There's no need to be nervous. We're all friends here." He patted my back, but the nerves didn't leave. "I'm Nathan, but everyone calls me Pastor or Father. I'm pleased to meet you."

He seemed friendly, but I found that those who are friendly were fake. They never meant what they said...especially after what happened with Julia and Vaughn. Nathan frowned, turning to Alisa he muttered something in her ear and after she nodded she made some excuse about going to get more bread but assured me she would be back soon. I nodded slowly, and watched her as she jumped into the car and drove off.

When Alisa was out of sight Nathan gestured towards the church and I followed him in. The outside was white with two large, white pillars that stood on either said of the door. It looked like a museum, without the huge museum sign. The inside was simple; three rows of pues with a dozen in each. The carpet was red, and at the front was a platform with a clear thing that people normally stood behind when speaking. There was a piano behind the stand and a couple of large planters with plants and flowers in them.

There was a door on the far left wall. "What do you think?" Nathan asked, his hands were crossed behind his back.

"It's an amazing church." I answered.

He nodded his head, and then went through the door. I followed him to a office with a desk, bookshelves and a large picture of The Harvest Goddess. I stared at the picture, she was just as beautiful in that picture as she was in real life. Nathan smiled, "That's the Harvest Goddess."

"She's beautiful," The Harvest Goddess was smiling, and little people in funny looking, each with a different colour, were smiling and looked like they were jumping. I didn't recognize them, "what are these?" I pointed at a little person.

Nathan approached the picture. "Those are Harvest sprites; they follow the Harvest Goddess."

"What do they do?"

He smiled, "they are like messengers. Whenever the Harvest Goddess needs to talk to you she will send one of them."

I frowned, that was not consistent with what had been happening. The Harvest Goddess hadn't been sending Harvest Sprites to talk to me...she's been visiting herself. I shook my head...

"Chelsea." Nathan said, sitting down at his chair behind his desk, "something has struck me odd...and I would like to ask you about it."

Normally I would get nervous, but I looked up at the picture of The Harvest Goddess. I was nervous, but remembered the words she had spoken to me earlier so I nodded my head. "O-okay."

He looked at me, stern but compassionate. "Why did you leave Sunshine Islands?"

I froze. "H-how did you know?"

Nathan looked up at the picture, "The Harvest Goddess said you had left Sunshine Islands for grave reasons, that you were giving up on the destiny she had bestowed on you."

It was all true, but all I could do was stare at him. I didn't know what to say, only five minutes previous I was swearing that I would not tell anyone anything about my past, yet I could feel that wall crumbling down. _Maybe...this once._ I looked to the ground. _I won't tell anyone else._ So I started to tell him my story, starting with my mothers beatings and the days at school. I told him about Mary Ellen, Vaughn, Julia, even Sabrina and my animals, and half way through I started to cry.

He shook his head, not speaking but just listening to every word I said. Nathan handed me several tissues as I continued and when I finished almost four hours later I had calmed down. All he could do was sit there...and not say anything...for several minutes. "Well, that's quite a journey," Nathan opened a drawer, "you have been through a lot."

I nodded slowly.

"And what have you decided?"

"I don't know..." I shook my head, "I want to give up. Start anew somewhere else."

Nathan nodded, "You have every right to think that," he plopped a stuffed rhino on his desk, "but if you give up, you will find yourself in the same dilemma in a few seasons."

"What's...that rhino doing there?" I asked, picking up the small toy and looking at it.

He smiled, "When I was your age, I was running away from a family that abused me."

"WHAT!?" I couldn't believe it.

But Nathan nodded, "I came across a priest and his wife one day. They took me in, and for the longest time I didn't tell them where I was from or why I had no parents. One day my father found me and tried to drag me home, he took out a gun and when the priest tried to save me, he was shot and killed. The police arrived and arrested my father, and while serving his time in jail he died. The day after the murder, his wife asked me some questions...not because she was mad. She wanted to help. I finally broke down and told her everything. I was a sensitive kid, so I didn't stop crying for a couple hours. When I calmed down, she passed me a stuffed rhino and talked about how it stands tall. It has a thick skin and doesn't let anyone boss it around and protects itself. She then told me her story."

I frowned, "So...you...?"

"I know how you feel. Like everyone's abandoned you." Nathan looked at the rhino, "but if you want someone to see you a certain way, they will see you that way. If you want to look pathetic and helpless, that's how people will see you."

"I guess..."

Nathan smiled, "but if you want to be courageous...and you want people to see you as someone who is strong, they will see you that way. So you can't let people therefore push you around. But at the same time, you need to do it appropriately..."

"That's what she said..."

"Who?" Nathan asked.

I stuttered, "uh...no one, a friend."

He nodded his head, "keep this rhino. Let it be a reminder of my story." Nathan smiled, "and always remember that no matter what happens, Alisa and I will always be here to help you."

I smiled, for the first time in a while, and thanked him. "I have just one last question."

"And what is your question?"

There was just one thing I had to ask, "what if everyone doesn't know of someone's true colors? For example, in my case Mary Ellen isn't who she makes everyone believes she is."

Nathan thought about it for a moment, getting up and waking over towards The Harvest Goddess's picture, "well, the first thing you can do is forgive someone, She hurt you and I understand that, but before you do anything try to forgive her. If she doesn't accept your forgiveness, then its not your fault. If she continues to cause trouble for you or your friends..." He sighed, "then you need to decide what to do."

I knew what I had to do, I had to somehow show everyone her real colors.

* * *

After talking for another hour with Nathan, I confirmed that I would like to help him with his church. He warned me of his destination decision; they were heading to Sunshine Islands at the beginning of the winter season. I told him I would go with them, even though I didn't want to, and that I'd be angry for a little bit after returning. It was a tough decision, but I knew that hopefully it would work out in the end. Two weeks after leaving, I calmed down...but I could feel the presence of another scar.

That's why a week before the big move to Sunshine Islands Alisa had somehow contacted Sabrina. The doorbell rang. I answered it and saw familiar black hair and pink bow. When we made eye contact we squealed and Sabrina gave me the biggest hug ever. "CHELSEA!" We jumped around in circles, still embraced in a hug, screaming each other's name. "What happened to you!? We were all so worried!"

I lead Sabrina to a chair and we sat down. "Worried?" It confused me.

Sabrina nodded. "When Vaughn went to check on you, you weren't there. He ran to Julia and started to freak out. I had gone to visit them, to tell them all you told me..." She looked to the ground, "Julia wouldn't believe me, she kept screaming that I was wrong. That's when Vaughn came in. I'm sorry Chelsea...I had to tell them-"

"It's okay." I said, "they would have found out anyway."

"You were hurting so much." She frowned, "I couldn't let her do anymore harm to you."

I nodded, "I know. What happened next?"

"Vaughn went to Mineral Town. He spent a week there, but returned when he couldn't find you. He contacted everyone he knew, but no one had heard of you or seen you." She sighed, "he never gave up. He'd visit Mineral town more and more each week. One time, he didn't come back for so long that we had thought for sure he had moved on. But he did come back...and after that, he stopped-" She looked at me, "he stopped talking to everyone, he got rude, Vaughn lost his passion for animals Chelsea!"

My eyes widened, "what...?"

"I went to visit him and asked him why he was...cooping himself up. I knew why, its because he missed you, but he didn't seem to know."

That surprised me. "What about Mary Ellen?"

"Oh Chels..." Sabrina changed seats, she was now sitting beside me, "it's horrible! She's got the entire village against each other! Taro and Felicia won't speak, Charlie and Chen are always fighting...even Mirabelle and Julia...my father and I are the only pair she hasn't been able to touch because we both believe your stories. We don't want her to get in the way of our father-daughter relationship..."

Even though I felt like everyone didn't trust me...I felt angry. Sunshine Islands was a beautiful place, she was ruining it. I looked at Sabrina, "I won't let her do anymore damage..."

Sabrina's eyes widened, "You mean..."

"Yes I'm returning."

"Oh Chelsea!" Sabrina gave me a hug, "I'm so happy!"

I hesitated, "Sabrina..." She looked at me, "I'm...not returning as myself."

"Huh?"

Alisa came in at that moment with tea and cookies. She placed the tray carefully on the table, "You must be Sabrina! I'm Alisa!" They shook hands. "Has Chelsea told you about our preplanning phase?"

I smiled, "I was just getting to that." I turned to Sabrina and started to lay out my ideas, "I don't wanna just walk in and declare that Mary Ellen is menace. No one, despite what has happened, won't believe me. I plan on going to Sunshine Islands as a person working for the church, and expose her by finding evidence."

Sabrina tilted her head, "That's brilliant...but will it work?"

"I hope so. That's why we need to do a good job!"

"So what's the plan then?"

Alisa sat down diagonal me. "We're going to create a disguise for her. And I figured you may be able to help."

"You have a sense of fashion. Your sister a fashion designer, you must have some sort of idea as to the best disguise!"

For a second, Sabrina stared at me. But after a while she nodded her head. "I can help."

Three hours went by, Sabrina and Alisa and I hit the downtown...shopping. One personality type we didn't have at Sunshine Islands was someone obsessed with clothes and make-up...or at least to the extreme. So we went into as many stores as we could buying dresses, skirts, mascara, eye shadow, nail polish, etc.

Late that night we arrived at a cute cafe I had visited a couple times with Alisa. It was European styled with cute tables, but the menu was quite large. After looking at it for a while, I decided to get the pasta with shrimp and scallops. Alisa and Sabrina decided to split a huge plate of their nacho's and cheese. We all decided on a Pepsi to drink. When the waitress left after taking our orders, Sabrina, Alisa and I started discussing the new "me".

"So have you decided on a new name?" Alisa asked, sitting on the edge or her seat.

I thought for a moment, "I think for the next little while, I want to be a "Arianna." I've always loved that name."

"That works. It's nothing like your old name." Sabrina approved, nodding her head.

It was true; the name I picked was nowhere near my name; they weren't similar at all. I looked at all the bags and smiled, "so...what have you come up with for "Change Chelsea's identity?"

Sabrina nodded her head, reaching her hand into a bag and pulling out a blue dress. It had two shoulder sleeves that didn't reach the arms. There was white lace at the top, both pieces met in the middle and disappeared so that there was a spot in the middle of the dress that didn't have lace. At the waist was a belt like piece of material that wrapped itself around the dress ad formed a bow in the middle of the dress. Two inches away from the end of the dress until the end of the dress was see through.

I looked at the dress; it was beautiful. "Wow! That's beautiful!" At some point we had split up, each one of us taking a street. Since Alisa and Sabrina knew my size AND what I would look best in, we didn't feel the need to try anything on. That was for later and if anything didn't fit, we'd return it the next day.

My friends nodded their heads, "It is!" Alisa's eyes widened, "it will look so good on you!"

Next, Sabrina removed a lime green dress. It was fancier than the other one and though lime green, Sabrina must think it would look good on me. There was a circle design on the dress and like the other dress, the last two inches were see through AND a piece of material tied into a bow in the middle. However, it was strapless. "This," Sabrina passed the dress to me, "is one of the dresses you will wear to a party. Since we each picked one, I thought this would look the nicest."

Alisa and I looked at each, nodding our heads, "It works!" Alisa smiled, "what kind of make-up did you find?"

"Well," Sabrina grabbed a smaller bag, but it barely looked light...in fact Sabrina seemed to have a hard time getting it on to the table. Once she placed it on the table, its contents spilled out and several pieces of mascara, lip gloss, eye shadow, blush, etc. fell out. My eyes widened, "Sabrina, why'd you buy so much?"

She shrugged, "we need to make everyone believe that you have been into this stuff all your life."

"Its true..." I picked up the pieces and observed them, "...but i am going to pay you back."

"No! You aren't!" She smiled, "you don't need to! Chelsea I wanna help!"

I didn't say anymore, it was no use arguing with her.

Sabrina smiled, "that's not even the end of what I bought! I got headbands, pony-tail holders...and I have a pair of shoes I need to show you!" Out of another bag, Sabrina pulled out a pair of purple shoes. A piece of material at the beginning of both shoes was rumpled and kept together with what looked like a broach. The shoes were flats, with no hint of really high heels.

They were beautiful too, "Wow Sabrina...your really good at picking at clothes. I'm not disappointed!"

"Thanks! That doesn't even scratch what I found, but I want to see what Alisa grabbed."

So it was Alisa's turn. The first item she picked up...wasn't a just one piece of clothing, but an entire set. The top was a small red V neck, with a pocket on the right hand side. The left sides material overlapped the right side of material. Right after Alisa handed it to me, she pulled out a brown belt and a neckace with beautiful beads. The skirt came out next. It was white with red flowers and ended just above the knee's. It was gorgeous. "That's stunning!" I looked at the outfit.

Next, was another dress...but this time it was a spring strapless dress. It went to the knee's and had an interesting circle design that consisted of grey's, reds, browns and yellows. Like the other dresses it had a piece of material that wrapped around the wasit of the dress and created a nice bow. The last item that Alisa pulled out was the fancier dress she had. It was a short blue strapless dress with black lace that had a flower design. The top was slightly rumpled, but the rumples ended with a thick black bow on the waistline. I gasped, it was the most beautiful dress I had ever seen.

"That's...beautiful." I muttered, "just...beautiful." It was the definitely the first dress I would be wearing to any party.

Alisa nodded her head, "that isn't all I bought, I bought a lot more. But I wanted to show you some of my personal favourites. Your turn Chelsea."

There was only one outfit that I bought that I loved. I pulled out a teal blue shirt, and a white skirt with purple flowers. The belt was silver and it was to be placed on the waistline on top of the skirt. Both girls awed in amazement as I put the outfit back. The waitress returned with our drinks and food and we continued to discuss the plan, "Alright." Sabrina started, "I've been thinking about this. We need to create a different you, someone who is the complete opposite so we are going to dye your hair."

I was sipping my Pepsi and right away I spat it out and started to cough, "Dye my hair?"

Sabrina nodded, "I know your against it...but its the only way we can create a completely new look and personality!" It was true, though I was against this entire idea...I preferred saving people to doing what I wanted so I nodded my head. But she hadn't finished. "I also bought contacts...they don't help you see any better, but they will change your eye color. This way, not even Vaughn will recognize you."

"You should probably create a schedule for yourself as well." Alisa added, "that way you'll be seen at the church...but you will also have time to snoop. So it will take longer for people to get suspicious."

Everyone nodded. "And lastly," Sabrina took a chip and plopped it in her mouth, "pretend you know NO ONE! Don't answer any questions about background and if Mary Ellen gets you alone..."

"...you don't say anything." Alisa finished.

I nodded, "thank you so much!"

The girls smiled.

From now until I figured out what was going on, I wasn't Chelsea the farmer but Arianna the fashion obsessed maniac.


	19. The End is Near

**Authors Note**

So I won't be able to use my laptop for a while because it's gone in to get repaired. My brother likes to hog the computer sometimes...therefore I won't be able to update as often. I was telling someone in a message that I wouldn't be surprised if this story surpasses 50 or even 100 chapters; I've just got so much content I can bring up. I've also changed the summary; tell me which one you liked better (not comparing the current summary to the one in the first chapter; comparing it to the one I had when you were browsing stories). So...Chelsea is changing her identity as a strategy to go undercover and find a way to expose Mary Ellen for who she really is. I'm excited to write this! :D

**The End is Near.**

The boat was half way across the ocean; and everyone was enjoying the breeze on deck. Nathan was the only one absent, as he hated going over large bodies of water and wanted to pray to The Harvest Goddess in his room. Alisa, Sabrina and I were joking about Mary Ellen. Sabrina described her to Alisa in detail, and right away Alisa didn't like her. She was always frowning whenever we mentioned her name.

My hair was now a beautiful blonde; dyed the night before while the girls and I partied with chocolate chip cookies. I was wearing a white dress with read flowers and a white strap. On top of that was a white coat with black stripes, along with a white scarf, gloves and hat. My boats were also white. All the stuff we had bought was stored underneath the boat in storage. Sabrina, Alisa and I had finished plotting earlier that week and concluded that while I was changing my identity, why couldn't I also make it seem like I was rich? Without consulting me, Sabrina asked her father to get constructors to add another room onto the church. I had almost forgotten that I had raised Mystic island at some point during all the drama. She insisted I stay with her and no matter how hard I pleaded, she wouldn't budge on the subject.

The persona I was taking up was one of a fashion maniac. One who may not be good at picking clothes for others, but amazing at picking clothes for herself. I was to always wearing some sort of fancy skirt or dress, overalls and farming outfits were out and I was NOT allowed to wear my old bandanna's. However, I was allowed to wear headbands. I had all my make-up on, and was already practicing with the girls on the bus.

"So," Sabrina thought for a moment, "if I were to say 'how long have you been into fashion?' what would you say?"

I paused for a moment, "I would say 'Why, since I was knee high to my own momma."

"Good," Sabrina nodded in approval, "and if Mary Ellen gets you alone?"

"Ignore her."

Alisa and Sabrina smiled. Alisa asked the next question, "And what's your relation to Chelsea?"

This was not a toughie, "I'm her cousins best friend."

"And how will you talk about Chelsea?"

"As if she were crazy and out of her mind." This part I was a little tense about, suppose the villagers agreed with me? With...Arianna that is. I don't want them to think of me as a crazy villager...someone who had no knowledge. Someone who didn't know what they were doing. I had lived on a farm all my life for crying out loud!

Alisa smiled, "No matter what happens, or what has happened, you were never crazy."

Sabrina nodded her head, "Mary Ellen's the crazy one."

"And your about to prove that."

I nodded my head slowly. In all honesty I wasn't sure, there were times when I doubted my past...I would ask myself if it really happened. Maybe I had been imagining it. Just as I looked out on to the water I saw an image in the water, The Harvest Goddess. She smiled at me, and waved, "Good luck!" At that point, I knew that even though I didn't want to do this, it was the best decision.

"You ready?" Sabrina asked, huddling in her coat.

Alisa repeated the question to me. I looked at both of them, slightly nervous but the motivation of bringing down my arch enemy once and for all gave me a little more confidence so I slowly nodded my head. Nathan came up and joined us as the boat docked on to Sunshine Islands. This was it. On shore I could see Taro and his family, Felicia was glaring at her father. Reality was beginning to hit.

As Nathan and Alisa went down the ramp, Taro greeted them, "Welcome father!"

"It's good to be here!" Nathan exclaimed, "may I present Alisa."

Alisa shook Taro's hand, "I'd introduce you to Arianna, but she is talking to the captain about getting all her luggage."

"It is understandable."

Actually, I was sitting on the boat. Sabrina smiled at me, before departing down the ramp and greeting Taro. He asked her about her trip to the city and Sabrina nervously replied, stating that it was really fun and she bought some nice stuff. At that point, it was my cue to go down the ramp. So I did, but not without a couple stares from everyone else. Taro didn't show any signs of noticing who I was. "Welcome young lady!" He shook my hand.

"It's good to be here." I was instructed to hide my voice and after a couple days of practice, I had gotten very good at it.

Taro smiled, "You probably want to see your new home!"

The captain brought down all my lugagge. There was more than I could carry, so everyone helped out. We walked through town and I tried to pretend I had never seen anyone before. Lady luck was on my side and I never saw Mary Ellen, but I did see all the horror that had gone on since I left. The roads were very bumpy, much worse than when I left. The roofs of the buildings were falling a part AND no one was talking to one another. Alisa noticed too and looked back at me. I had a lot of work ahead of me.

The church however, which looked like it had been recently built, was beautiful. It stood on Mystic Island with a beautiful and stunning. A small pond was beside it. "This is your new home." Taro said, gesturing towards the church. "We will leave you to get settled." The entire family left without another word, which was very unusual. Normally they'd throw a part for newcomers...or even stay to help unpack.

I looked at Alisa, "I need to find out what's happening...and fast."

Nathan went inside first, and Alisa and I followed. We noticed how the inside of the church looked almost the exact same as the previous church, the only different was that there were two doors. The extra door led to a staircase and another door. Through that other door was my room. It was large, with several bookshelves and desk and a bed. There was a carpet at the door, and the wallpaper was beautiful. When i walked inside, I noticed another door and slowly pushed it open. There was a very large walk in closet...enough to fit all my clothes and more in.

Over the next several hours, I unpacked all my stuff in my room while Alisa and Nathan did the same. All my dresses, shoes, and clothes fit in my room. I had even brought a mirror that I placed on my wall. After fixing up my make-up, and choosing a new outfit, I left my room.

"Father," I approached Nathan. He was standing on top of the platform, "do you mind if I go and explore?"

He nodded his head, "Of course. Take Alisa with you. I know she really wanted to see the town."

I smiled, then ran off to find Alisa. She was sitting in the room, and happily agreed to come with. "So...where are we going to explore?"

"First, I think we should introduce ourselves to everyone. And then...go look around the farm. If there is any evidence left, it should be there."

Alisa nodded her head, and we walked out the door. We took Kirk's boat over to Verdure island where the town was. The streets were very deserted, no one stood around outside. I looked at Alisa, and the first place we stopped was Chen's store. Chen was in there, cleaning the counter. When he saw us, he smiled a little, "Welcome!"

"Hello!" Alisa greeted, "My name is Alisa and this is Arianna. We're the newcomers."

Chen nodded his head, "I didn't know we were getting newcomers."

I tilted my head, "Doesn't anyone around here inform the rest of the townspeople about newcomers?"

"Maybe a couple seasons ago." Chen sighed, "but after our farmer disappeared, things started to fall a part. We have very little food and water, all the townspeople are ganging up on each other. My own son won't talk to me."

All along I had known about this, but I wasn't aware that things had gotten this bad. I looked at Alisa, "Where is your son?"

"Who knows! Probably hanging out with Elisa. She's the daughter of our carpenter." Chen seemed unwilling to talk any farther so we thanked him for sharing, smiled and walked out. We decided to leave Mirabelles shop for last and headed towards Pierre's home.

Slowly, I knocked on the door and Pierre opened. he was a short man who wore a purple outfit and a HUGE top hat. "Hello?"

It was my turn to introduce us, "Hello! My name's Arianna and this is Alisa. We're newcomers. We came with the Pastor."

"Oh." Pierre smiled, "welcome. I'm sorry, I'm a little busy." He shut the door right away.

I scowled, "Pierre never did that before." I looked over at Alisa as we walked away, "something's up." That was all for Verdure Island, except for Mirabelle's shop. As we approached the building, I tried to mentally calm myself. My friends...who had not believed me in any way lived in that place. I stood outside the door with Alisa and together we pushed open the door. A familiar bell sound played. Mirabelle was standing at the counter looking as bored as ever, but brightened when she saw us come in, "Welcome!" She exclaimed, "I've never seen you before, you must be newcomers."

Alisa nodded, "I'm Alisa and this is Arianna. We came with the Pastor and will be helping with the church."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you. I'm Mirabelle." She turned and started screaming at both Julia and Mary Ellen to come down. At that moment I remembered Mirabelle saying before that Mary Ellen wouldn't be staying for longer than a week...so I then asked why she was still there. Ten minutes...yes ten minutes...passed before the girls came down.

Julia frowned, "I didn't think newcomers were allowed on to Sunshine Islands." This startled me, Julia was always really friendly and amazing. She would have never said something like, "What do you think Mary Ellen?"

Mary Ellen was as evil as before, maybe worse. "I agree. You should just go back to where you came from."

I smiled, I wanted to kill Mary Elleb, but rather I pretended to not care. "I think not."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"Because...I don't believe in giving up so fast. Now wouldn't that be a cowardly way out?" I continued to smile, "don't you agree Mary Ellen?" I stressed every syllable of her name. She didn't look completely frightened, but a little taken back. My guess is she wasn't sue to being talked back to. Slowly my smile widened, "I hope you all will take care of us. We're in dire need of friends."

At that moment a familiar set of grey hair came into view. I tried not to suck in my breath, or look hurt from the words he had spoken before I left. Vaughn stood at the doorway. "Your being too loud. I'm trying to sleep."

Mary Ellen smiled at him, "I'm sorry Vaughnie."

He frowned, "I told you not to call me that!" Vaughn walked up to her and glared, "and I told you not to talk to me!"

Julia gasped, "Vaughn! Don't talk to Mary Ellen like that!"

I tilted my head slightly. Though Vaughn was normal, something about him was off. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but there was something. All the more reason to figure this out sooner. "I don't need you to tell me what to do." He glared at Julia, "your no better than her."

"That's enough!" Mirabelle exclaimed, "unless you want to put on a show for our guests."

Vaughn snorted, glaring at Julia and Mary Ellen before leaving. Mirabelle frowned, "And you two. If you aren't going to be hospitable, then go back upstairs!"

The girls glared at us then went upstairs.

"What was that all about?" Alisa asked, looking at me and then Mirabelle.

Mirabelle sighed, resting her head on her hand and placing her elbow on the counter. "This town has lost its meaning. Ever since our farmer disappeared, that...wretch upstairs has been tearing this place a part."

I frowned, so Mirabelle believed Mary Ellen was to blame for everything...well that's a first. "If you don't mind me asking...what happened?"

The lady motioned for us to sit down in the chairs. And sat in a chair herself. "I guess since you are a part of this town now you have a right to know what happened..." She looked around, making sure no one was around. "It started at the beginning of Spring this year. A girl washed up on shore and agreed to run our farm. Everything was going well...and then her barn door was somehow left open and almost all her animals were killed. Then the next day this girl, Mary Ellen showed up. She scared the living daylights out of our farmer. When no one believed her when she started accusing Mary Ellen of all these things, she was so hurt, she left." Mirabelle sighed, "it seemed cowardly at the time. But after she left, Mary Ellen started...manipulating people. Making them believe things that weren't true, she turned the entire town against each other."

Alisa sat on the edge of her seat, "If you believe she's responsible for this, then why don't you tell everyone?"

"It's...impossible." Mirabelle sighed, "after she brought my daughter against me, the entire town started to believe that I was nasty...and that I had been hiding it all along. No one would believe me."

I nodded, "But what if...someone found hard evidence to prove that she isn't who she seems?"

"That would be different." Mirabelle got up, "though Taro has problems of his own. He deals in hard core facts. If you could prove that she is corrupting this town, Mary Ellen would be exposed and kicked out before night were to come."

That brought a small smile on to my face. If this were the method, I would be sure to use it.


	20. Caught Red Handed

**Authors Note**

LOL! I got so much more done in the last few days than I did in the last year XD I've got a couple chapters planned, so I'll try my best to get them all written and to you as soon as possible! :) There will be little bonding between Vaughn and Chelsea, though some is planned. I want to get this whole investigation thing over and done with :P By the way; I'm thinking of holding a contest eventually :) So please look forward to that! ALSO for anyone interested I'm re-opening my oneshots; you pretty much fill out a form i provide and i write a oneshot for you! Anyone interested should PM me :) Anyway; here's the next chapter! :D

**Caught Red-Handed**

The winter wind picked up as we crossed the bridge to Sprout island. Tree's were fewer; but each carried heavier bags of snow and glittered like crystals in the sunlight. Slush splashed every time we planted a foot firmly on the ground, soaking our boots and pants all the way to the knee. I surveyed the entire area; huddling in my jacket. If old age was late in taking me into the big house in the sky, then winter would surely be the death of me. There were many different ways of dying in the cold, one specific one is Pneumonia. A lot of people had died from it in the past, so it was very likely that more would die of it in the future.

We stopped in the middle of the bridge, and I scanned over the contents of the island. Sabrina's large and exquisite house stood tall above everything else. The roof was plastered with white snow; the ground shiny and reflecting the sun. It brought out the blue walls and complimented then red door. Next to it, just beside the bridge leading to Verdure island, was a large wood structure with a blue roof and several windows. A thick, white path was connected to the road and led to a large red door.

There were other buildings scattered around the island of all shapes and sizes. Denny lived in a shack down on the beach; and it was easy to distinguish with its purple roof and rotting wood. Lanna lived just south of Sabrina in a smaller log house with a light blue roof. Other than some additional housings, though few, around the island, there was almost no change in the structure. The roads, however, were now extremely uneven. Several massive holes were in the middle of the bumpy path, each was inches from the last.

For the rest of the afternoon, we walked all around the island introducing ourselves to the rest of its residence. Denny wasn't hesitant in sending his greetings and extending a warm welcome on to the island. His hair was still a curly brown, matching his pleasant personality and his purple clothes. The parrot flapped and squawked, but it never said anything worth listening to. Continuing on, Alisa and I introduced ourselves to everyone on that island, and even made a trip to Sabrina's house to say "hello" to Sabrina, and Regis.

When finished, I stretched, "What a day this has been!"

"Your telling me!" Alisa nodded, following me back towards Verdure island, "introducing ourselves to those people."

I nodded my head, "There aren't many on this island, but enough to make you wonder if it could grow anymore!" There were a lot of people on the island, not enough for this place to be considered an urban city, but the numbers were big enough for someone to confirm that this island had been growing...once. The number hadn't gotten any bigger since I left, I'd counted all the people seen, or talked to, and the number seemed to be the exact same in comparison to when I left. "But Alisa, do you get the hint that something...is kinda off here?"

Alisa thought for a moment, taking a look at the island ahead, "Just a little. I didn't sense much welcoming warmth. Especially from the Vaughn fellow..."

A snicker escaped my lips. He had always been like that, hostile and not welcoming of anyone into his personal life...or personal space. I laughed, "Yeah...it's true. I think he has his own rule that explains that you can't come within three hundred feet of him."

The two of us laughed loudly as we came to the end of the bridge and to Verdure island. "It might be better if I god by myself," I noted as we stepped foot onto solid ground. People would get suspicious of two figures were seen looking around the farm and investigating the area. But Alisa shook her head in protest.

Minutes later, we were standing on the island that was once my home. I had such plans for my ranch, cows, sheep and a horse grazing on the grass. Chickens in a pen, pecking at the ground and looking for worms to eat. My dog sleeping on the porch while my children sat on the swing reading a book, or talking with their daddy. The crops growing in the fields, and when I came home at night my children would run and give me lots of hugs. Dinner would be ready. Then I'd tuck them.

I let out a long, quiet sigh. The sadness that took place within the pasture, within these buildings...I didn't want to remember any of it. It had been left just the way I had last seen it, so finding the barn wasn't that difficult. "I'll take the inside," I called. It was actually an excuse to get out of the cold. I went inside, shutting the barn doors behind me. But when I turned around, I saw red stains on the ground...familiar red stains. Suddenly I felt hot and nauseated. Everything that happened begin to swoop back into my memory, even the tiniest detail. The animals. Taro. The blood. The blame. I shook my head, _No! I have to find proof if I am to prove I'm innocent!_ The rafters seemed like a good place to start.

The ladder was short, so reaching the top took only seconds. But once at the top, I didn't waste anytime searching for some sort of evidence. I didn't know what I was looking for. A hair. Blood. A phone...anything that wasn't mine! All that was up there was a couple piles of hay, and a pitchfork...until my eye caught something red. I went to grab it, but the barn door opened a harsh voice bellowed, "WHOSE HERE!?"

Quickly I snatched the red item and hit it my deep pocket on the lower part of my jacket. "Ummm..." I lowered myself down the ladder, "it's me."

"What are you doing here?" The voice barked. Now that I was closer, I recognized the figure...Taro. He face was as red as a tomatoe, his hand was gripped tightly around the stick he always carried.

I scratched the back of my neck, trying to find some sort of excuse. "I..uh...I..." I looked at him, "...was exploring the island and found my way here. I figured since no one lived here...you wouldn't mind me looking around?"

He glared, "Someone does live here!" Taro barked, "Our farmer!"

That was an answer I was not expecting! Never in my life did I think Taro would say that...but rather than just get all crazy and admit to him who I really was I tilted my head, "Your farmer? I've heard rumors that-"

"Well those rumors are right, but that doesn't mean she'll never come back!" His glared tightened.

I shook my head, "In all respect sir, my best friends her cousin and heard the story in detail. She was pretty...shaken up. Hearing that from you comes as quite a surprise."

Taro's facial expression softened, "Because she was unfit! She let wild dogs get into her barn and destroy most of 'er animals."

"If she did that sir, then you must never want her back."

He frowned, "True...but look at this place." Taro led me outside, and gestured down the deserted path. It was gloomy and unpleasant. "This place is a ghost town. Brother against brother. My own daughter hates me fer what happened." The road was long...gloomy...depressing.

I was unsure as to what he was saying...that I was unfit, but he wanted me back? "I don't understand sir."

"What I'm sayin' is that..." He looked at me, "we all make mistakes. Mine was lettin' my temper get the best. That poor girl had a shock, and she might be right...she may be innocent."

Hope starting to rise, I started to breath heavily. "If I were to...find evidence of her innocence, would you reconsider bringing her back?"

Taro smiled, "and more. If we could only find her."

There was hope. Taro always seemed like the type who didn't care, or was a rough on the outside but on the inside...I knew things would work out. What I didn't count on was seeing a dark figure out of the corner of my eye watching us from behind a tree...and he was wearing a stetson.


	21. Diego

**Authors Note**

I wanted to spend longer on this chapter (though it ended up being as long as the others :/). Sorry for the slowness of romance or action or problems with Mary Ellen. I don't want to rush this...though i'm struggling to get this part of the story done. Thank you to everyone who is reviewing this story, i like reviews because like I have said before, it lets me know that people are reading the story. Just to let everyone know, as i have mentioned in the previous chapter, I have an offer for you all! If you fill out a character profile for me, I will take the character and write a oneshot! You can pick any guy from Sunshine Islands to fall in love with. Let me know if your interested by sending me a private message :)

**Diego**

"There was a red hat in the haystack?" Alisa asked the next morning at the breakfast table. She sipped her coffee; eyeing me as I dug into my pancakes st full force.

I nodded my head slowly as I chewed. "There were initials on the tag. M.E." It was impossible to imagine that this was nothing but a coincidence; Mirabelle was one of the few who had a M at the beginning of her name...but fewer people had both a M and a E in their initials.

Alisa started coughing; hitting her chest and placing the mug firmly on the table. "Wait-" The coughing stopped her in mid-sentence, and she didn't try to speak until she was finished. There were times when I didn't understand why Alisa believed me. We hadn't know each other long enough to admit that we were best friends, or even close. Unlike Sabrina, who I was able to relate to, and her personality type, I found myself trying to relate to her as often as I could. I didn't know her background or what her childhood was like, but I did know one things; we were the same.

"You," Alisa breathed in slowly, the coughing had minimized to almost nothing, "actually found her initials on that hat?"

The hat sat next to my arm; it had a puffy ball on the top and the ends were folded up a couple inches. It was a beautiful hat, but ultimately, it looked like it had been bought at some designer store. I pointed Alisa towards the label, it was attached inside the hat. In big black letters were the initials 'M.E.' "I was lucky. Taro almost caught me red handed."

She gasped, "Wow! This has to be enough proof!"

If only the justice system worked that way, "I wish. This isn't enough. It could easily be argued that I just wrote the initials on a hat, or planted it at the scene."

"But-" Alisa paused, looking up towards the ceiling, "-how do we prove she was there?"

It was hard to imagine what proof was left, this had happened in the Spring/Summer, and we were now at the beginning of the Winter season. "The only possible thing that could be done is to record her confession. She must have someone she confides in on this island." Every villain has an henchman, that was something I learned after reading comic books and watching superhero movies. "But I need to get my hands on a recorded..." The only electronic store was in the city, so it was impossible to buy one.

_Maybe Sabrina would have one._ I decided that I would visit her later just to catch her up on what was happening and to ask about a recorder. "I'll ask Sabrina."

This seemed to sit well with Alisa when she nodded and smiled.

Suddenly, a faint scratching noise made its way to my ears. I perked up, I felt like I was imagining things. "Hey...do you hear that?" There was silence, and then it started up again.

Alisa jumped up from her seat, going pale, and ran down the hallway towards the basement. Rather run, I got up slowly and approached the door with great caution. Ghosts didn't exist, I grew up believing that the belief in ghosts was just a way to scare people out of their wits. I reached out towards the doorknob, then opened it.

The next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor, and getting my face drenched in puppy kisses. "Hey-" I tried to call out, but the thing wouldn't get off. It licked and licked. For several minutes it licked and licked, refusing to move even an inch. But when I finally had the ability to push it even slightly off me, my eyes widened. It was a dog...Diego. "Diego!" I kicked the door closed and laughed, hugging the dog...now much bigger than it was during the Spring.

His eyes had changed color; now a brownish color but Diego had no collar, I had meant to buy one for him at some point but with all the stuff that was happening I never got around to it.

Nathan and Alisa came running back, she looked almost terrified but when reaching us, she sighed in relief. "Oh...its a dog." Diego jumped in front of me, a grumbling and growling noise coming from the base of his throat. His jaw was clenched and he had knelt down as if he were to pounce.

"Hey." I exclaimed. The dog turned around and wagged its tail. "Bad dog. Their friends." He whimpered, placing his head between his paws and giving me his adorable puppy eyes. I looked up at Alisa and explained Diego and how I had gotten him.

After minutes of explanation, Nathan nodded his head, "I understand." He insisted I take the dog back to wherever it came from. I agreed, if Diego were here, it would blow my cover.

Breakfast ended shortly after and with the dog under my arm, I made a detour to Mirabelle's shop before going to Sabrina's. I pray that Vaughn wasn't there, honestly I didn't care too much...but he could blow my cover if he got to suspicious. And knowing Vaughn, he always arrives at the truth before everyone else, and for me that's a problem at this moment.

I approached Mirabelle's store, the door was wide open and boxes were standing on the path. She stood in front of them with a clipboard, checking off stuff, and then moving to the next box to do the same thing. "Mirabelle?"

Mirabelle turned, "Hello Arianna. What can I do for you?"

Slowly I gestured towards the dog under my arms, and immediately Mirabelle's face brightened. "Oh, that's where he went." She placed the clipboard down and held out her arms, "C'mere Diego."

She took Diego out of my arms and held him for five seconds, but he started to whine and cry. His feet started moving in an attempt to escape her, and after a couple minutes, Mirabelle set him down. Diego ran from her, and hid behind my legs. I frowned, "Now isn't that odd."

The lady crossed her arms over chest, glaring at the dog, "He's never done that before...except with the farmer of course. He was her dog."

Diego put his paws over eyes and whimpered. I knelt down, "You gotta go with her boy." He whimpered again, "I promise to come visit." The dog wouldn't budge, he laid himself down and looked at me with those puppy eyes. "I can't look after you. I don't have the proper stuff." He looked really upset and I wanted to spend time with my Diego, but I couldn't...not until this was all over...not until I had cleared my name, and somehow transformed back into Chelsea.

But I sat there, staring at this dog. "I'm going to go now Mirabelle." I felt a something shoot through my heart, I was abandoning Diego. _Abandoning him._ The poor dog was going to be left in someone else's house, knowing his owner was out there...and that she didn't want him.

As I pushed myself off the path, Mirabelle walked around me and held the dog in place so he wouldn't follow me. But as I walked down the path to Sabrina's (which was next door) I could hear the shriek and terror filled cry, my poor boy was howling and whimpering. Diego was trying to get free, I could hear Mirabelle, "Shh! It's okay! She'll come visit you!"

Sabrina exited her house just as I was about to knock, "You're here early."

"Yeah," I looked over at Diego as Mirabelle picked up the dog (he looked as lifeless as a corpse) and took him inside. Sabrina moved out of the way; gesturing for me to sit down on the seat, "So hows the search going?" I pulled out the hat from my rucksack as Sabrina sat down and passed it to her. She examined it for a moment, checking everywhere for anything that might be important. "The tag has the initials M.E." I said, pointing to it.

She carefully held it in her hand, skimming it, "Your right." And yet it was not enough to do any real damage to Mary Ellen. If only there were a way to really convict her, but even then what would we convict her of doing?

I lay myself back into the chair and sighed, "I don't know what to do next...I mean, we can't convict her of doing much besides turning the villagers against one another. And even then, it's not enough to kick her off the island."

"Maybe you should go talk to Taro."

It was a good idea, but after his unexpected show-up in the barn, that hardly seemed like a good idea, "No...he caught Alisa and I sneaking around the barn. I'd feel pushy if I were to visit him again." But what could be done? It's not like convictions and motives could be pulled out of thin air, and evidence doesn't grow on tree's! Playing detective was hard; there were to many details to observe and to many places to look around. I sighed, putting my head against my hands and placing my elbows on my knee, "We need someone else...someone on the inside. Someone who will want to help, and hasn't been scared by the witch just yet. You haven't been turned Sabrina but we need someone who cant get access to what we can't." I thought for a moment, no person came into my mind. Everyone had either hid themselves in their houses away from Mary Ellen, or manipulated into being her friend OR been a victim of this unfortunate problem.

Without another person who had seen what was happening first hand, there would no way we could convict her of doing anything and send her off to who knows where. It took a second before Sabrina had a large smile on her face, "I have an idea..." She jumped up from her seat and scurried to the door, "you wait here!"

"Sabrina! Wai-" But the door was closed and she had gone. I jumped out of my seat and stumbled towards the window, but by the time I could get a clear view of the street she had vanished. It was almost like Sabrina vanished. This was so frustrating I crossed my arms over my chest and dropped on to the couch. How was I suppose to kick her off the island if no one told me anything?

* * *

**Vaughn**

It had gotten quiet. For the first time in a season, there was nothing to be heard. No idiotic screeching. No singing. No arguing. There was nothing but the sound of utter silence. Vaughn sighed, placing his hat on top of the table and slowly picking up a couple of sheets of paper. There were numbers on them; all adding up to one total. This WAS the farms paperwork after all. He had been putting it off for who knows how long. It was the boring part of his job, all the math and numbers...Vaughn could do without.

For a moment Vaughn thought about the utter quiet that he was once blessed with; how no one came into the shop for anything and how everyone left him to his own business. But then that...farmer came along and things started to wind up. He lost his job, worked for the farmer of whom he kept bumping into, met this annoying brat, and then Chelsea just... disappeared. He wasn't worried about her...he couldn't be. Vaughn stopped crunching in the numbers, thinking about the farmer was way too distracting. Since when had she been a distraction? Never in his life had anyone distracted him this much from anything! Vaughn scratched his head. For as long as he could remember, no one had ever been on his mind this much.

"No." He huffed, getting out of his chair and sitting on his bed, "don't let that girl distract you. She's nutthin' to ya. You should be made at her," he leaned back on to the wall, "she did abandon ya and the island after all." Vaughn looked over towards the desk, it was empty. The top was bare and there was nothing around it either.

He frowned, Vaughn was getting nowhere. The door bell went and as if a reflex, Vaughn jumped up ten feet in the air. As footsteps approached, he groaned...his peaceful morning was about to be ruined. When the person knocked on the door, Vaughn called for them to come in. Something inside of him gave him the hope that it was Chelsea...Vaughn shook his head, he couldn't let that girl get to him anymore!

Sabrina popped her head through the door, her glasses lay her face and matched her black hair and pink bow. "M-may I come in?" She was nervous as anything, which made Vaughn want to puke at the sight of her. Not even Chelsea had been that nervous...Vaughn closed his eyes, he had thought about that stupid farmer again.

Vaughn glared, "No." So when Sabrina came in anyway, he felt a rage build up within him. "I thought I said no."

She nodded her head, taking a seat on his chair. "I h-have something to a-ask you." He didn't say anything, was he suppose to? There was no point in saying anything but what was necessary, even if he was "friends" with this brat, he didn't want to talk to her anymore than he needed to. Sabrina took a deep breath, "I w-wanna prove..." She looked up at him, "...t-that Chelsea d-didn't do anything w-wrong." At that moment, Vaughn froze. He stared at the girl, but crossed his arms to keep his "i'm-a-cool-and-unfriendly-cowboy" act. He wanted to know what he had to do with this, why she wanted him to help...but just when he was about to speak, Sabrina cut him off and continued, "Chelsea didn't l-leave that door open. I know s-she didn't, but I can't d-do this alone. I n-need help."

What a thing to ask, to waste time proving something that can't be proved. Vaughn glowered at her, this was just immature. "Well too bad. I'm not helpin' ya." He frowned, "Now get out!"

Sabrina sighed, lowering her head and exiting. When the door to the shop had been shut behind her, Vaughn jumped off of his bed. She had no right to ask him to help with anything, whether Chelsea did it or not! He had no interest whatsoever! Yet when Sabrina had asked him to help her, he had felt a slight pull on his heart to agree to help. Of course he ignored it, but...ignoring it made him feel bad. "It's nothin'" He whispered to himself, "I just need some fresh air."

Vaughn grabbed his hat and went to the front door. Mary Ellen was walking from the upstairs when she saw him and smiled "Oh Vaughnie!" she exclaimed. He rolled his eyes...here she goes again. She linked her arm around his and smiled, "lets go out and have some fun!"

"Fun? With you? Phht!" Vaughn groaned, "let go you dirt bag."

He tried to push her away from him, but Mary Ellen only grabbed tighter. She titled her head, "There's a party happening at Sabrina's tonight! You should go with me!"

"I AM NOT going on a date with you!"

"Oh Vaughnie! You want to go on a date?"

This girl was deaf, dumb and blind...or she was good at acting. He was gettign frustarated, "OUT OF MY FACE YOU DARN OGRE!" Vaughn pulled free, and went to the door, "AND THE NEXT TIME YOU ATTEMPT THAT, I'M GOING TO CHOP YOU UP AND FEED YOU TO THE PIGS!" He slammed the door shut behind him and stomped towards Sabrina's house...he wasn't doing this to bring back Chelsea...he was doing this to get that pig out of his hair. There were days when he wished he had listened to Chelsea's warning...When she came into his mind, he found his temper slowing down. This was weird ..it normally took hours before he would begin to lose his steam...but...

He shook his head, he WASN'T going to think about her again. Vaughn knocked on the door, and not long after the door opened. Sabrina looked at him with her eyes and he sighed, "What do ya want me to do?"

* * *

**Mary Ellen**

She had watched him storm off towards Sabrina's house, and felt a smile shape on her lips. Mary Ellen was ready to continue her quest, to ruin Chelsea's life. It was not a crime, so there is no possible way for her to be kicked off. She smiled devilishly to herself, turning back towards the stairs and ascending up them. Her next target had been acquired...and her next target will be begging to her her friend.

* * *

**Reviews are apreciated! I hope you all liked this chapter :)**


	22. Party Spy

**Authors Note**

Heres chapter 22! Out of my hectic schedule and constant sleeping, I was able to get it done! :D Sorry for taking so long, i've been doing stuff and not feeling well recently :( I had a huge brain block with this chapter...I didn't know what to write :/ I finally got something though XD I was super excited when I got over the brain block. I've been drawing a lot and it worked hopefully...but I'm drawing because I need a hobby, LOL! Enough of my babbling, I am going to let you read this XD

**Party Spy**

"You almost ready?" Sabrina exclaimed.

Alisa turned, I couldn't see her face, but she sounded slightly annoyed, "Be patient! I'm still working on Chelsea's make-up!"

"Well hurry. My party guests are going to arrive at my house soon..."

I rolled my eyes, the party wasn't going to start for another couple hours, guests WEREN'T going to appear at this point, but Sabrina wouldn't stop yelling at us to hurry up. You'd think something was about to explode or someone was about to raid the islands. It wasn't surprising though, often when Sabrina and I had gone out in the Spring on outings, she was always pushing me to hurry up. Old habbits never die.

My hair was now beautifully curled, with a slight bounch and smooth look. My dress; red felt, with a darker top and a light botoom, came with a white sweater that just rested on my shoulders. Matching it were black flat shoes that lay comfortably on my feet, though they pinched a little. Alisa was wearing a skirt and beautiful fancy orange top that she had picked up for herself before leaving for Sunshine Islands. I hadn't seen Sabrina's outfit yet, but I imagined it would be purple since that colour matched her features so profoundly.

"You look so beautiful." Alisa said, backing up from me, "take a look in the mirror."

Turning my chair around I stared deeply into the mirror, all I saw was a stranger. Someone I didn't know, but then I suddenly realized...that person was me. I was the stranger, "Wow," I lightly touched my face, "is that really me?"

She nodded her head. Alisa placed the make-up back into its case, her hair extenders fell against her beautiful outift. I had never thought that I could look...so beautiful. It was a shock...I mean, I'm really nothing too special. Just little old Chelsea. "That can't be me..."

Alisa smiled, "But it is! This beautiful creature is you Chelsea. Make-up suits you very well."

"HURRY UP!"

The smile turned upside down, Alisa turned her head towards the door of my room and put her hands on her hips, "YOUR THE MOST IMPATIENT PERSON I'VE EVER MET!" Well, it's true.

I stood up from seat, "Ready, Alisa?"

She sighed, "Ready or not, I think we need to get out there before Sabrina dies from impatience..."

We giggled, I need to tell her about this later. After turning off the lights and locking up, which we had promised Nathan we would do since he had gone back to town to grab some belongings, we met Sabrina outside the church and started walking towards the docks.

Sabrina looked at me, she was biting her tongue, that was never a good sign. "Alright, out with it." I said, rolling my eyes.

"W-what do you mean?"

I looked at her, "Whenever you bite your tongue your hiding something. Now out with it!"

"Oh..." She sighed, "well the thing is..." Sabrina looked over at me with sympathy, "Vaughns agreed to come tonight..."

Suddenly I held my breath...darn it, I had wanted to sneak out and look over Mary Ellen's room, it's not like Vaughn could stop me but I had noticed him lurkign the other day while I was talking to Taro outside my old barn...getting away without him noticing won't be easy. I shook my head, wait it should be easy...he doesn't care about anything but himself. I shrugged, "So?"

"Well...uh..." She looked to the ground as we rounded the bend, "he's your date for tonight..." Sabrina murmured.

WAIT!? WHAT!? "WHHAT!?" My voice echoed through the tree's, "You...what? Say WHAT now!?"

"Uh..."

I didn't understand...how did she...? "How did you pull THAT off?"

Sabrina looked around, "Vaughn came by earlier...asked...how he could help. Mary Ellen won't leave him alone. She keeps asking to be his date. We went out to find proof of your innocence by the barn; and when she came asking to be his date, I said he was already going with you..." Sabrina bit her lip, "it saved his butt. But...she'll be watching you like a hawk tonight."

Oh great, an AWKWARD position I didn't want to be placed in, "Why did you even invite her?"

"Father handed out the invitations. He refused to accept my request to not invite her. Her father is very influential in the mining company." The cool breeze started hitting us, slightly pushing hair behind our heads.

Alisa, who had been silent this entire time, spoke up, "So...he invited her because of THAT?"

"It would look bad if he didn't," Sabrina answered, "my father is closely related to hers. It would look bad for his business if he didn't invite her..."

I nodded, "it makes sense. I don't agree with it..." In a way I felt bad for Regis, inviting someone his daughter didn't particularly like though I had not idea how he felt on the topic. There were times when I felt he didn't care about his daughters feelings when making a decision; but rather focused on his personal gain. "But...if she's going to be watching me like a hawk, and Vaughn is suppose to stick to me like glue to pull this off, how will I escape to check on you know whose room?"

As we approached the dock, Alisa smiled, "Maybe we should have a evil scheming plan session..."

"That sounds like a good idea!" I smiled, clapping my hands, "so...what are we going to do?"

* * *

An hour later I was standing outside of Vaughn's room; trying to get myself to knock. The only memories I had in these walls were painful. Call me immature if you wanted, I was someone who cried easily...though recently it took a little more to bring out the tears. The process of toughening up your skin was wierd; one moment you were crying like a baby, and the next...nothing.

I thought about out last conversation, he tried to make me believe that he had suddenly "believed" me...when I know it was just an act. He didn't believe me, just like no one else around here believed me. And then when I left, all this happened...I turned my fist into a ball. No. I couldn't let this girl continue to tramp all over me...continue to tramp all over everyone else in this town. She would continue to do this to EVERYONE in her life if no one stood up and stopped her.

With everything I had, including acting skills and power, I banged on his door. It opened slightly, for the first time in the longest time I gazed into his beautiful amethyst eyes...they were amazing, and made my heart pound. I mentally shook my head, I am not going to do this! "You almost ready?" I asked in my sweetest voice.

He glared at me, his eyes narrowing, "Be patient." Vaughn shut the door in my face without another word. Yup, that was good 'ol Vaughn.

"You know its starting in a couple minutes. Its rude to be-"

He interrupted me from behind the door, "I said be patient."

I shut up after that, he was still awkward to talk to. Not that I was any better, I was slightly awkward to talk to as well..No! I can't think like that anymore, I am Arianna...cool, calm, collected, and stylish. I am not shy! I am not socially awkward...lets hope I don't get myself killed, "And I said we are going to be late! Hurry up or I'm coming in there!" There was no answer. "I WILL come in there." I went to put my hand on the knob, turning it enough to let him know I was being serious. Just when it had been turned all the way, the door suddenly violently pushed open. I was able to get my balance without completely falling over, but I glared at him. He glared right back, though...his cheeks were slightly pink...ignore that Chelsea! Gaining myself by brushing off my dress, I looked at him, "You couldn't have given me some warning?"

Vaughn didn't say anything, but the pink in his cheeks dissapeared and his glare deepened. Without another word, I turned around and stormed out of the shop with him on my tail. Other couples were already heading over; I could see Lanna and Denny from where I stood. Since when had they been together? Well, it had been quite a few seasons.

Snow was already beginning to fall, "Don't you love snow?" I went to reach for the falling snow, and when I got no answer from Vaughn. I turned to see him staring off into the snow, "Why are you so gloomy?" It was hard acting like I didn't know why, not mentioning his HATE for other people was killing me. To reach out and turn his frown upside down. I used everything in me to not reach out...since when!? I mentally shook my head AGAIN. This was really wierd. "You know you could smile more...it would make you look friendly!" Crap. Saying that was a bad move. Vaughn suddenly looked up at me, the scowl on his face dissapeared. He went to say something, but stopped himself.

Without waiting for another reply, or chance for him to reply, I gestured towards the mansion, "Shall we go?" I turned around before he said anything and walked over towards the mansion. On the way, I waved at Will whom gave me a friendly wave in reply and a bright smile. I would have to talk to him later.

At the entrance, I pretended to be amazed. Like I had never been there...I actually had, many times including earlier that day. But, no one else could know that...right?

"Its amazing!" I exclaimed, "alright! I'm going do this!"

Vaughn grabbed my shoulder, he looked both ways and went to whipser in my ear, "Stay close." He didn't say anything else, rather walked in and left me standing out there. We had to keep this a cool...I kinda felt bad at this point. I was pretending to be someone else while here in Sunshine Islands...and pretending to be Vaughns date. So I was pretending to pretend...oh well, its confusing.

I shook my head, I could do this...I can't think negatively! I will stick with the plan...and do my best to search Mary Ellen's room. I smiled softly to myself, I can do this...Slowly, I opened the door, inside was a grand room. There was no longer a living room, all the furniture had been removed and put who knows where. Rather there were tables of food, and a lot of streamers and decorations. There was a DJ at the far corner, and a huge space for dancing.

Lots of people were crowded in the living room, talking and laughing...though the vibe was different. It was almost like a "I need to talk to you so I i might as well" rather than a...friendly vibe. It was unlike anything I had known before...

Vaughn huffed, I recognized it. It was the huff that exclaimed without words that he had no desire to be here or to say anything...the feeling was mutual. From the corner of my eye I could spot Mary Ellen glaring at us with her arms crossed over her chest, though Julia was nowhere to be found.

Sabrina approached us, "Welcome!" She smiled, "food has been served and dancing will begin shortly! There is also a raffle draw." She gestured towards a small table. "Please join!"

I nodded, "Thank you very much."

Mary Ellen made her way over to us, and that's when I started to panic, "Here comes the perfector." I murmured. Vaughn acknowledged my words with a little nod, but all he did was glare at her.

She smiled, "Hi Vaughnie!" Wait...Vaughnie? Now I knew why he didn't really like her...he HATED that nickname with a passion. It was the only thing he hated more than people.

Vaughn glared at her.

"Why haven't you talked to me Vaughnie? Why are you avoiding me?" You know VERY WELL why. Because your annoying...upsetting...

I smiled, tilting my head, "Oh am I getting in your way?" He looked at me, surprised, "you see...he's been up at the church with me. Helping me with stuff." I elboewed him, might as well make this look geniune."

"Yeah. Actually, you are..." Mary Ellen frowned, crossing her arms over her chest, "you see, we're suppose to go on a date."

"Oh really?" I looked at him, "well he hasn't mentioned it to me." I smiled, I was going to regret this...thank goodness I can act a little bit, "so it must not be important!"

The music started and my smile widened, "Oh! Vaughn, lets go dance!" I grabbed his arm and we went around Mary Ellen...who was GLARING daggers. I betcha no one has EVER spoken to her like that. It felt...good to stnad up for myself, but at the same time I felt guilty. I don't know why exactly.

It was a slow dance, which is not normal since most places with dancing start with some high speed crazy dance. Vaughn and I positioned ourselves and started dancing to the music, of course eagle eyes was watching us. I could feel her eyes on me the entire time.

I thought I heard some sort of murmur so I looked over at Vaughn, "Hmm?"

He looked hesitant, as if he were trying to figure out whether or not he was going to say it or if he had said anything, "Thanks..."

"For what?"

"Back there."

I laughed a little, "She gets the hair on the back of my neck up.:

He nodded.

"Plus...she seems to run this little town. I can't let her control me."

Vaughn nodded again, "Makes sense."

The conversation trailed off, just like it use to. And we continued to dance...

* * *

When the night was half way over, the plan started to move into motion. Alisa walked over to Sabrina and whispered in her eyes; when I met their gaze from my seat on the other side of the room I smiled...and it started.

I grabbed my stomach, "Hey...Vaughn?" He looked over, unamused and really annoyed. "Mind if we leave? I'm feeling sick to my stomach?"

Without hesitation, he agreed quickly. It was probably because he hated social gatherings, I don't blame him...I did too.

"Excuse me?" I could hear Alisa say from across the room, "I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about your dress!"

Mary Ellen looked at her, "The dress?"

"Yeah!" She smiled, "it looks amazing on you!"

If there was one thing that worked as a distraction, it was getting Mary Ellen to talk about herself. The girl nodded, "Why! Yes..it does look good on me doesn't it!" The girls went to a table and continued their conversation.

When Vaughn and I were outside, we walked over towards the shop, "Can I get something for my stomach?"

He grumbled something about me getting it myself..and then when we entered the shop, he went into the back and shut his door behind him...the plan was working perfectly.

I slowly walked up the steps, and tried to find Mary Ellen's room. With all the posters on the walls, I knew the room I had found on the right was her's...so I started looking through her stuff.

Nothing came up for a while, until underneath her bed was some sort of paper...I frowned, before I could grab I heard a bellow behind me, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I turned...it was Vaughn.

"Uh..well..."

"What's your business here?" It was more than he had said in three hours..."Why are you going through other people's stuff?"

I frowned, "Why do I need to tell you anything!?" Hopefully he didn't push it...

Vaughn crossed his arms over his chest, "Your gonna tell me who you are and why you're here?"

"Huh?"

"You ain't with the church! You were messing around the barn the other day and I've seen you...going in and out of Sabrina's home! I say your too nosy for a stranger!" Darn it. I couldn't let him catch me...I had to think of a way out of this.

With all my might I stood up and glared, "I don't have to tell you nothing..." And I ran past him. Hopefully, I was running away from explaining...and ruining my cover.

* * *

**Alright, I need everyone's help XD Should Chelsea tell him who she in the next chapter? Or should we wait for my ultimate idea and amazing way of telling him! XD It won't be for another couple chapters...I need to do some playing around with the characters and such...but which one will it be!? :D**


	23. Lullaby for You

_In the Mirror by vicky271_

* * *

**Lullaby**** for You**

Vaughn didn't follow; footstep echoes were vacant from the night. Another blank mind, another spout of anger. I automatically walked over the bridge that led to Sprout Island.

I was mad again for the millionth time and for a moment I thought. Every time someone said something I yelled, or cried or screamed...or did something that would result in me running away.

Was that right? Running away...or over-reacting so much. How did that make me look? If it were only a persons opinion I wouldn't care, but my mind trailed back to the words of the harvest goddess, _"You change by going through hardships." "Everyone has something that they need to work on..." "Build confidence and stand up for yourself."_

And then there was Nathan, "_If you want someone to see you a certain way, they will see you that way." "You can't let anyone push you around. But at the same time you need to stand up for yourself appropriately."_

What did all this mean exactly? I found myself at the beach, staring off towards the blue ocean and the sky full of twinkles. My dress was full of dirt and sand; soiled at the rim.

Everywhere stood still; there was music coming from the party but the ocean seemed empty. "Stupid..." I paused, "...stupid people." And only then did I stop myself.

_This isn't right_ I thought, pulling at the dress, _This isn't right...I can't do this. I'm a person. But I'm not suppose to be a wimp._ I glared at the ocean, and then with one swift move i pulled off my dress. Underneath was a thin white dress.

The smell of the ocean hit my nostrils as I ran. My feet hit the docks and at the edge I jumped, plummeting into the water. _Ahhhhh..._I smiled as the cool night water hit my skin.

Underneath was a multicolored universe; fish moving their bodies back and forth, coral stood still against the pull of the water, even the pebbles at the ocean floor consisted of several colors.

For a couple minutes I stared at the sight, but then I could feel my chest tighten and rushed to the surface. I gasped as air filled my lungs and took a deep breath, "Air..." I laughed, "I wonder what would happen if humans did not need oxygen." My arms spread a part and pulled my body farther into the ocean.

"Am I..." I said a loud, "a bad person?" My eyes averted to the bridge leading the Verdure Island, "Everything I am...is it bad?"

_No, it can't be bad!_ My inner thoughts started to screamed _You are not a bad person! Everyone else is just wimpy._ I shook my head, "No...I'm the wimp. I'm the one who keeps running away. I'm the one who over-reacts. I'm the one who puts myself in impossible situations."

_But is it really bad to be in bad situations? _My thoughts said. "It can't be...but...i don't want everyone to see me as a wimp. I don't care about other people's opinions, but I can't keep acting like this."

Every single memory rushed back to me in a second. All those falls. The constant fights...but then I thought of the positives. The laughs. The farm. Vaughn...I shook my head, "No! I'm Arianna right now, not Chelsea! I don't have feelings for him!"

I placed my hands over my mouth as my words echoed until they finally died down and the night became silent. But it was clear no one had heard me. My thought trailed to little Diego, I would hold his small body in my arms and sing to him. And then they slipped out,

**"Hush little baby, don't say a word**

**Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird**

**And if that mockingbird don't sing**

**Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring."**

And for once I didn't cry.

* * *

**Vaughn (No one's P.O.V)**

Time passed before Vaughn shook his head and pulled his stetson over his hair. Arianna had run off moments previous, "Must be a girl thing..." He muttered under his breath. He never understood girls. They would smile and everything, but one wrong move sent them into a phase of momentary screams and crying fits. Its probably why he didn't like girls.

He left Mary Ellen's room and stomped down the stairs...it was time for him to get out of this cursed tuxedo. Vaughn unwrapped the tie from his neck and placed it on the night stand as he entered his room and slammed the door behind him.

"Darn party..." Vaughn muttered, "darn tie. Darn Tuxedo. Darn freak girl. Darn..." He placed his stetson down on a hook and plopped on his bed. The brown haired girl with the red bandanna flashed in his mind...his memory. Every time something bad happened she would cry; she would make herself vulnerable. At first he wanted to help her but after a while he got tired of it.

He snickered. The world was coming to an end; or maybe he was finally getting better. Ever since Chelsea left, he had this odd feeling deep down. At first it forced him to run around the entire world looking for her, and then as time went on it faded...now it seemed like it was non-existent. And yet why did he feel so lousy?

Vaughn sighed, tugging on the light switch and shutting his eyes. He was off to dreamland.

* * *

_First off, I apologize for the extremely long wait on this next chapter. I went back and realized that Chelsea was a wimp (sorry, i'm being very blunt...(lol i like to give up for_ some_ odd reason :P) so i'm going to develop her character. My original plan was to abandon this story but a lot of people like it...so i'm not going to! :) Since your my audience, I would like to get y'all involved in her development. How would YOU like to see Chelsea change? Do not post your answer in the comments; i'd appreciate if y'all would message me your ideas...so if I decide to use one or a few of them other people won't know and will be kept in suspense :D_

_Second, this story won't be updated regularly. Technically I'm taking a break._

_Third, i'm starting a video series...AGAIN...lol. I found some Chelsea and Vaughn sprites and. Went. Nuts. Currently i'm only at the planning stages, and the series won't take place on the island from Island of Happiness and Sunshine Islands (unless by some miracle i find some scenes from the game online somewhere) but there is a update video in the process of being created, so I will let y'all know when its done._

_Fourth, because of Chelsea's very...disturbing character in this story, i'm in the process of planning the next story...yes the next story. I'm not planning to write a sequel for this one._

_Fifth, this is a short chapter, but I have two reasons (1) I wanted to let everyone know that i'm haven't forgotten ya'll, and (2) I wanted to write a short little bit that focused on her development. Don't expect anymore short chapters from now on...LOL XD._

_I hope you enjoyed this extremely short chapter...R&R! :)_


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